Shadows on the Island Of Happiness
by umbreonix
Summary: Chelsea isn't the happy go lucky girl everyone seems to think she is. Before, she was a soldier, made cold through war. Will she be able to start afresh? Will she find her happiness on the island that grants happiness? Little does she know that everyone on the island has a past they desperately wish to forget. VaughnXChelsea pairing.
1. Prologue

**Hello, I'm Umbreonix! In this story I will be experimenting with a different writing style and darker themes than my other two stories. I love the Harvest Moon series and have been wanting to write a fan fiction for island of Happiness For a while now. PLEASE READ AND REVEIW! I desperately need feedback on this story. Thanks!**

**- I do not own the Harvest Moon series.**

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It was cold. So, so cold.

The girl could see her breath in the nippy night air.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe the longer she ran but she couldn't stop, if she stopped it would all be over. She would probably never see the sun again. A shrill siren could be heard in the distance and she knew that her disappearance had been noticed. There was no turning back.

Fast, heavy footsteps indicated 3 no wait, 5 men in pursuit. Years of experience had trained her for this. Diving into the underbrush she watched as they passed by the one in the lead hollering commands.

"Find her!" He barked, "Don't take her lightly, she's one of the most dangerous combatants in the whole Deadman army!"

A maniacal grin spread across her face while stray hair blocked out her eyes. Never, had she ever felt so alive, adrenaline coursed through her veins. If she died tonight, there would be no regrets.

When the danger passed she burst through the bushes and began to sprint her whole body angled towards her destination. She stopped abruptly. It lumbered in front of her, large, cold concrete. _The wall. _The same wall that held her in for seventeen long excruciating years. Scanning the seemingly endless barrier she found it, the weak point, the spot on the wall that she had been chipping away at for over a decade. She pulled out her scythe, her weapon of choice and thrust it into the wall. It sunk in and she pulled it out and inserted her hand into the newly created hand-hold. The scythe was then thrust further up the wall and she heaved herself up using her old handhold as a foothold. She repeated this agonizing process as she scaled the wall.

Each time the sickle was lobbed into the wall she could feel a small part of her heart shatter. This was the instrument she had routinely sharped and cared for daily for as long as she cared to remember. It had become a part of her as it protected her in countless wars and fights. She reminded herself over and over that if all went well tonight, she would never be forced to use it again. At last she reached the top of the wall and she collapsed on the crest. Her muscles had reached their limit but she forced herself upright, she wasn't done yet. She looked ahead of her, at what lay beyond the wall; an endless forest, tree's leaves dyed black in the night. Apparently nearby villages referred to this as Turn Back Forest a place where even the most experienced survival man could lose himself.

She sneered, the perfect place for the government to hide this monstrosity, this place that should not exist. Stabbing her companion one final time into the peak of the wall she tied a long rope around its handle and threw the other side over the edge. The rope coiled and twisted as it fell into the darkness. Tugging on the part attached to the scythe she nodded approvingly, this would hold her weight.

She repelled down without a second thought or a final look of her most prized possession sitting atop the wall with its back against the half moon. When she got to the bottom all muscle fatigue was forgotten, she had passed it! The impassible walls of the Deadman base had been breached. She threw her head back and laughed, She laughed at her stupid traitor of a brother who was still stuck behind to wall, at her boring personality-less peers who had long given up hope of escape, and most of all at the insane commander who had grinned at her the first day when she was barely three years old and had told her through yellow teeth, "This is where your home will be for the rest of your life, however long that might be."

Yes, she was going to be the first to leave and join the outside world, she was going to live a normal life, much like those she had been forced to ruin before she was even old enough to read or write.

She allowed her legs to guide her through the immense woodland, trusting that they would keep her alive, they always had. She discovered a small abandoned cabin. Pressing her hand against the door lightly, it fell off it's hinges and she stepped inside. The most important thing to do now was disguise herself. She was clad in black, shiny black pants with a cropped black coat over a silver-coloured chest band that exposed her torso. A tattoo with a skull and the words "Deadman Army" Was visible above her right hip and a large scar passed from her waist across her chest.

Digging through the bedroom's closet she found and pair of capri-length jeans, a yellow t-shirt and a short sleeved orange jacket. Throwing them on, she noticed a red bandanna. Hazy memories flashed through her mind.

_A woman, was it her mother? She had always wore a white bandanna. A bright warm woman who always smiled. What had happened? Oh, right that man had come. He came by to see the girl and her twin brother every day when her parents weren't around. He'd talk to them from behind the backyard fence. _

"_Your parents are bad people."_

"_They don't love you."_

"_They're only pretending."_

_On day he came with candies. The twins ate them up greedily, they tasted sweet but the flavor was unrecognizable. _

The girl remembered her mind getting hazy.

_The man suddenly spoke with urgency. "Your parents are planning to kill you!" _

_The girl was filled with panic, "I don't want to die" She told him._

"_Then you're going to have to kill them first."_

It was hard to remember what happened next but the girl knew, she had killed her mother, and her brother, her father. The last image she remembered was a white bandanna slowly turning a sticky, warm red. Then the man had taken them away. He told them that they were now monsters and had no place else to go but with him. That's how they had ended up in the secret faction of the military.

The girl grabbed the bandanna and wrapped it around her head, she will always wear it as a reminder of the day long ago. All of the food in the house was either spoiled or eaten by wildlife. She left the cabin and continued through the forest.

Finally the nameless girl found herself out of the woods facing a plane that extended for miles. Her head felt cloudy with wonder and excitement. All that was left to do was walk, she would walk all the way to the pits of hell if she had to. Anywhere to be free of that place.

A day passed and she had continued without stop. A small pond lay up ahead and she stumbled over and gulped huge pools of water through her cupped hands not caring that most missed her lips and poured down her chin and wet her shirt. Falling on her back she looked up at the clouds lazily a bright smile plastered on her face unfitting of her situation, she vowed that she would never let anyone make her unhappy again. That she needed to smile as much as possible to make up for lost years.

Heaving herself back up she saw hundreds of lights across the horizon that were not there before the sun fell. _A city!_

For once, she had not gone to a city to blow it up. Though this city was hundreds of times bigger than any city she had ever gone to. Finally getting there. She stood there stumped. What was she to do now? A poster was stapled to the bulletin board of a nearby convenience store.

_Wanting to Start a New Life?_

_Help Populate a rural town today and become a rancher. Boat ticket paid for!_

A new life… She thought with a faint smile on her lips.

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**A little slow at the beginning but I feel I had to include all of this information. So? What do you think so far? Good? Bad? **


	2. The island

**I still don't own the Harvest Moon series. I didn't a second ago, and I don't now.**

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The boat rocked restlessly in the storm, waves lapped over board and made the deck slippery. It was going down. She could tell, and the pink haired family obviously could see that fact too. Hiding in your cabins hoping for the best would only bring your own destruction as the ship sank.

_I'm not going to die here!_ She thought desperately.

"Look!" Said the pink haired girl, barley heard over the roar of the rainfall, "An island!"

The ex-soldier followed the girl's outstretched finger and could confirm that there was indeed a large figure up ahead. Grabbing a life jacket, she jumped into the cold water and paddled with incredible strength. A large wave came as she approached the island and washed her ashore. She dragged her wet and tired body further inland out of the waves reach. The last two days finally took their toll and she faded into unconsciousness.

"Heelllooooo? Are you dead?" The girl feel a finger poking her cheek. Sitting up she groaned, her head felt like it was going to split and her throat burned.

"ZOMBIE!" Cried a boy's voice and she could her him flee across the sand. She sat up and cheeked her surroundings with an experienced eye. A shack, appearing to of been abandoned years ago, a rock completely covered in seaweed, and lastly, a dock with no boats.

She jumped a little as something was thrust in front of her. "Gah!" She exclaimed, her voice coping out rusty and strained.

It was a cup of clear liquid. She wasn't foolish enough to presume it water. She took it tentatively and glanced behind her. A women, maybe in her early forties smiled at her friendly. The lady from the boat, the girl never forgot a face, both a blessing and a curse. She tried to match the smile, all the while still eyeing the pink haired woman cautiously.

"Hello! My name is Felica!" The woman's eyes didn't appear to open the girl noted, "And you just met my son…"

The girl put the cup to her lips as the woman spoke and discreetly sniffed it. _Water. _

"-Me and my family washed up here as well…"

A small taste test, the girl let the smallest drop land on her tongue. _Not poisoned. _She jugged it down, it instantly put out the fire in her throat.

"Anyway," said the woman, "What is your name?"

The girl froze, then quickly responded "Chelsea." The first name that came to mind. She liked it, it had a nice ring to it. Much better than her other name, _Reaper._ It was unfortunate that she could not recall her given name but then again, most of the soldiers in the Deadman army were taken at too young an age to recall.

"Nice to meet you Chelsea, I'm sure you will get along with my children splendidly! Now follow me please, let me introduce you." The woman told her. 'Chelsea' followed her soundlessly, experimentally moving each joint of her body to check for damage. Despite soreness, she was miraculously unscathed.

The woman led her up a path and into and old-looking house. Her family was situated around a table inside.

"This is Chelsea." Said the woman, _Felicia_, Chelsea told herself.

The bespectacled boy, presumably the one who ran from her on the beach looked at her but seemed too embarrassed to make eye contact. The girl at the table simply glared at her unimpressed. It was the old man who surprised her though. Despite looking ancient he sprung up from his seat, spry as a sixteen year old and marched straight up to her. In surprise the girl reached for her scythe only to remember it was no longer there. Instead she put on the brightest smile she could muster. Her new defense mechanism.

"Hello!" She told him.

He looked her up and down. "Perfect!" He said.

"Pardon?"

"You will be this islands rancher!"

"But gramps!" Protested the girl, "She's smaller than Elliot! She's way too weak to do that farm work!"

"Who are you looking at Natalie?" Asked the old man, "This girl may look small but she has muscles on her. I can tell!"

Chelsea grinned a little taking his words as a compliment.

"So what do you say? Asked the old man, "Will you start a new life with us on this island? I can teach everything I know, I may not look it but I used to be quite the farmer."

Chelsea smiled, perhaps her first genuine one on this island. A new life was all she wanted.

"Alright!" She said.

Two weeks had passed since the boat sunk. The old man, Taro, was true this word. The family gave her a huge property in the North side of the island to start her farm. Every day the old man would come and teach her new things about how to use her tools and how to raise crops. She had already harvested her first batch of turnips with seeds they found in the tool bin.

Today she had decided with utter determination that she would clear out at least half of her enormous field. For pride's sake, she chose the side closest to the entrance. It was already noon and the girl had made some progress, about a third of her goal. She wiped the sweat from her brow and glanced up, Elliot, the old man's grandson was making his way up the walkway to her farm.

"Wow! He exclaimed. "You did all of this this morning? Chelsea, you're amazing!"

Chelsea smiled slightly, the boy had come to trust her. Natalie on the other hand still seemed to hate her despite the sheer amount of smiles she shot her way. Did she suspect something?

Two more families had move to the island. One, a woman, Mirabelle and her daughter Julia, They had started their own little ranch and were raising livestock. The second was a family of Eastern descent, A man Chen and his ten year old son Charlie. They had opened a store that supplied the basic materials.

"Thank you Elliot." She said brightly. His cheeks turned pink and he walked away mumbling something or other about having to go help his grandfather.

She stopped and decided to break for lunch. She decided to go the Chen's store for some rice balls the only meal to be bought on this island. The bells chimed as she walked into the shop.

"Welcome!" Said the man.

"Hi lady!" Called his son.

She smiled and walked up to the counter. "Could I have some rice balls please?"

"Certainly!" Said the man.

She sat at the beach, listening to the seagulls as she ate her meal. She had already striped the rock of it's seaweed for the day and sat atop it. She had always liked high places, they made her feel bigger. Julia and Mirabelle had come to the beach and were now watching the sea intently. Swallowing the last of her lunch she hopped of the rock and walked over to them. Everyone in the town seemed to follow a schedule, whether they meant to or not, the beach at noon was unusual behavior for the two women.

"Hi!" Called Chelsea.

Julia jumped, wheeled around and sighed and put a hand to her chest in relief. "Chelsea! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

She grinned, "Aww, come on Jules, I doubt that's true." Back to her original objective, "Anyway, what are you guys doing."

"My cousin's coming by boat today." Julia said, "He's an animal dealer."

"Oh, a new person huh?" Chelsea said conversationally, "Maybe I'll wait with you."


	3. Enter Cowboy

**I'm back again, now with chapter three!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

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He had had a terrible day. The animals were less cooperative than usual getting on the ship and all of the people were so darn HAPPY. He wouldn't have been surprised if the sailors suddenly burst into a song about the joys of life on the sea. When you're in a bad mood, which he almost always was, the last thing you want is for everyone else to rub in how great life is. Though then, he might just be driving himself to an early death going to somewhere called "Sunshine Island".

The ship finally docked and he stepped off of the boat.

"Vaughny!" A voice squealed and almost knocked him over. His cousin Julia was clinging to his side.

"Vaughn! I'm so happy you had a safe trip." Exclaimed his aunt.

There was one other person on the beach with them. A girl. She was standing there with a never-leaving grin. Usually when he looks at people, any attempt at a smile immediately wipes off their face from his glare. His eyes widened with surprise when she simply smiled wider. "I'm Chelsea! The island's rancher!" She extended her hand to shake but he simply glared at it until she let it drop. "Well, you certainly are an interesting one," she smiled, "She you around!" And then she left.

_An interesting one indeed. _Thought Chelsea as she left the beach. The man's glare rivaled some of the one's she'd seen in the military. His white hair and off coloured eyes reminded her of a small girl she had befriended in her other life. That girl was hard to talk to at first as well. _I wonder what she's doing right now…_

She returned to her field and began clearing the field again. She was beginning to get into the rhythm and was getting through much faster. She had to leave the larger boulders. Her hammer was rusty and she did not trust it to not break upon impact. The axe was also a little questionable but ironically, or perhaps the opposite of ironically, the sickle was fine. Plus she was very good with sickle maintenance and was able to fix it up to her standards.

"Good work!" Said an unmistakable voice and she turned to grin at old man Taro.

"Thanks!"

"I knew I wasn't mistaken, you're going to make a fine rancher! Now, on that matter. Have you bought any livestock yet?" Asked Taro.

"Nope." Said Chelsea, her smile faltered. She was never good with animals, unlike people, you can't fool them with a smile.

"Then go now before Mirabelle's closes and buy yerself a chick!"

Chelsea fiddled her fingers on her scythe nervously, a subconscious act she had been doing for years. "Maybe I should just stick to crops-"

"Don't be silly!" Exclaimed the man, "What do you propose you do when winter next hits?"

The girl sighed and gave in, "Alright, I'll go now."

The bell chimed welcomingly when she stepped into Mirabelle's store. "Chelsea! Welcome!" Called Julia. Chelsea liked Julia but was slightly put off with her happiness. You could never trust a person who always smiles. What a hypocritical line of thought.

"I'm here for a chick." She said, and Julia beamed.

"How exciting! Your first animal! Vaughn's in the back, ask him to help you choose."

Chelsea nodded and headed out behind. The quiet cowboy was ironically, or again perhaps in-ironically, tending to a cow.

"Hello!" She said brightly, "I'm here for a chick."

He grunted, "Come." Chelsea followed him into a coop. A mature chicken was walking around with six chicks trailing behind. They immediately ran up the Vaughn. Chelsea took a tentative step forward and they all squeaked in panic and ran away. Vaughn was surprised, the chickens had never reacted that strongly to a person before. Chelsea stood there with a solemn smile.

"Yeah, that's how I'd probably react to myself too…" She turned to Vaughn, "I'm sorry to waste your time. I think I really should stick to crops." She turned to leave but he stopped her.

"Wait."

He walked over and skimmed over the chicks, finding the one he was looking for he walked back to the girl. "Hold out your hands" She obliged. "Calm down." She began to breathe in and out slowly. Gently, he place the chick in her hands. He was glad he was wearing gloves, he wasn't accustomed to touching girls' hands.

The chick began to protest in Chelsea's palms but Vaughn stroked it comfortingly. "Shhh," He told it, "It's alright, she won't hurt you." The chick calmed down and he looked up. The girl was looking at him in disbelieve. He mentally cursed. He didn't like showing that side of himself to people outside his family.

"Thank you" She said quietly. He nodded, tilting his hat over his face to hide his embarrassment.

"No problem."

She left and he relaxed, returning to the cow.

After buying the chick, which she named Flap for no real apparent reason, she took it to the coop at the back of her property. She put it down and it wandered the coop curiously. "Nice to meet you Flap." She said lamely, not sure what to say. "I'm Chelsea, or at least, that's what I'll be going by now. It kinda has a nice ring right?"

She silently walked up to the chick and picked it up. It squeaked in delight. She gasped. "Thank you." She said softly. "For accepting me. I promise, I'll never be that person again." She almost teared up but refused to show that kind of weakness, even to an animal.

"Um, hello…" Said a voice. She turned around in surprise.

"Vaughn!" She said.

"Mirabelle told me to tell you how to take care of your chick. As well as to deliver this." He said gesturing his head to the large sack of bird seed slung over his shoulder.

"Thank you." She said, stepping over to the man. She tried to take the seed from him but he protested.

"It's really heavy."

"That's fine, I'm strong."

He scoffed, "fine, you can try to lift it." He said dropping the bag to the ground.

She grinned triumphantly while she lifted it with only some effort over her own shoulder. He blinked in surprise but refused to show that he was impressed. "It goes over there", he mumbled. She poured the contents into the feeder. "Now," he started taking a hand full, "scatter it into here." He let the seeds fall out of his fingers into a food box in the middle of the coop. The chick walked over and began to eat.

"I see, is there anything else to know?" Asked Chelsea.

"Occasionally, your animal may get sick. If that happens, you can buy medicine from Mirabelle. In good weather you should let your animals roam outside but you should make an enclosure for them. Wild dogs come at night so take them back in before."

She nodded, it all made sense.

"Lastly, for chickens, once…"

"Flap." She said. He looked at her for a second with in expression that seemed to say _really? _But then continued.

"-once _Flap _is mature she'll start laying eggs. At that time you can ship them for money, eat them or put them in the incubator to hatch." He finished.

"Cool, thanks a lot Vaughn!" She said, he nodded and left.

Once he was gone, she began to clear an area near the coop to made an outdoor enclosure for her chicken.

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**Hey I thought of something, Vaughn is good at handling chicks but not_ "chicks"_. Wahahahaaa!**

**... Lame, I know...**

**Read and Review. Please! Tell me what you like and what you hate. Maybe even what you want to happen.**


	4. Milky

**HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER! It's been awhile since I've written but I needed a break from exam studying... Even though my physics exam's tommorow... I'm a horrible student. Ah well. Once exams are done I'll try to be more regular with my updates. If anyone has ideas or input please drop a comment in the reviews or pm me, I guess that kinda works too.**

**I do not own Harvest Moon. I do not own a lot of things actually.**

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Weeks had passed and the island grew more prosperous. The islanders' numbers grew as well: A carpenter and his daughter, a fisherman, the eastern side of the island opened up and a new person seemed to come every day. Chelsea felt mixed emotions, she was happy for the island but she didn't feel comfortable around so many people. Plus, the less known her island was, the less likely she was to be found. All it took was a picture of her in a newspaper and it would be over.

The people who knew of the Deadman army much less the ones who knew of her of escape were few in number. It was established years back most likely during the First World War. It fought using less-than-conventional means so it was kept secret from the public. To this day, it operated in the shadows. It was unlikely even the president knew about it. Only a small handful of government officials working in the military sector.

The origins of the name had to do with the fact that the army was made up entirely of people who were "dead" to society. They had no identities, no role in society and no reason to live. This made the army all the more secretive. She would most likely, never be unlucky enough, living on a tiny island, to be spotted by someone who mattered but there was never being too careful.

Chelsea had finally finished her work and she glanced around her farm with a satisfied expression. Flap was wandering around her enclosure keeping a tight eye on her three young.

The field was half full of crops and she had harvested nearly twenty potatoes and several were near harvesting. She looked up at the sky, more specifically, the position of the sun. It wasn't even noon yet! She cursed her efficiency. There wasn't much else to do on this island but work. She could go to the mines, her resilient body allowed her to drop several floors without sustaining much damage so she could get pretty far down without too much effort. Jewels paid good money.

However, it was a nice day and she didn't feel like going into a deep dark cave for the rest of it. So instead she decided to use some of the money she had gathered for a cow. Vaughn was there again today and she would probably need the help getting the animal to trust her. If she didn't do it today she would have to wait for the following Wednesday.

Entering the Bluebell ranch she flagged down Mirabelle. "Mirabelle! I'm really for a cow!" She grinned.

Mirabelle smiled warmly, "Well that's great sugar. Vaughn's not here at the minute so why don't you go to the back and check them out until either Vaughn or Julia comes to help."

Chelsea suddenly felt a whole lot less sure of herself but refused to back down from a challenge. "Alright."

Heading to the barn she examined the cows. They walked away from her as she entered. Spotting a pretty black and white calf she decided to start there. She walked over slowly and quietly. Once she got within two meters, the calf's head shot up in alarm as if seeing a ghost and it ran to its mother. This wasn't working. She spied a cow that was separated behind another fence. She stepped over to the white-painted wood curiously and hopped the fence. Walking over to the cow slowly as to not alarm it she could hear her heart beating. Chelsea really didn't have the heart to be rejected by another cow today.

A voice called out in panic, "Chelsea!"

"Idiot! Don't yell so loud!" Said a deeper one. The urgency in the voice made her freeze. That hushed tone was only made when there was serious danger.

Turning, she could see Julia was waving frantically and Vaughn trying to hush her. "THAT COW IS DANGEROUS!"

Vaughn quickly put a gloved hand to the girl's mouth but it was too late.

Chelsea wheeled around, thanks to Julia's calls, the cow had noticed her. Shoot. The cow began to slide it's hoof across the dirt in it's enclosure leaving deep scores in the earth. It was strong, and it was preparing to ram her. Well, better than fear, she at least knew how to deal with rage, kill the opponent's fighting spirit. The cow lumbered forwards and Chelsea's battle instincts took over. She rolled sideways just enough to miss the cow's hooves. She smiled her usual smile and continued to dodge the cow's attacks. Finally with her back to Julia and Vaughn she dropped her smile and spoke in a low and quiet voice that only the cow could hear. "Let's stop this now, you aren't going to be able to beat me. I'm sure you're exhausted and I've barely moved."

The cow slowed down a little and then stopped entirely. It began to eye her down but she returned the look full force. She had always been infamous for her intimidation tactics. The cow grudgingly bowed her head. Chelsea had gained its respect. The girl walked over and patted it on the head. She allowed her smile to return and she faced the two stunned onlookers.

She hopped the fence back and grinned, "I want that cow!"

"Why?" Asked Julia, "It's evil, we can't even put it with the other cows it's a little too much for your first."

"I'll set it straight." Said Chelsea.

"You might as well let her have it. She can handle it better than you two anyway." Said Vaughn. Chelsea smiled, this was pretty high praise coming from the cowboy himself.

He watched as the female rancher make her way down the road with the cow trailing behind and food bag causally draped over her shoulder. He had to admit, that rancher never seized to amaze him. Not even HE could fully handle that heifer. There was still something he didn't like about the rancher though. The way she always smiled intimidated him. It was like she had no soul. The cow attacked her and she was smiling. She was not right and no one else on the island besides the pink haired girl seemed to sense it.

"Vaughn!" Scolded Mirabelle. "You're not going to help her?!"

He sighed and got up jogging slightly he caught up. "Mirabelle wants me to help again." He said.

The cow tossed its head in anger, he winced, he shouldn't have approached so suddenly. Chelsea glanced at the cow, "Calm down." She said, with no real comfort in her voice, it almost sounded more like an order.

"That's not how you calm a-" He started but realized the cow stopped. He looked back at her in disbelief.

"Our relationship is built on respect." She said, "This cow doesn't want to be babied, and I'm not really good at babying anyway."

She still kept referring to it as 'cow', "Didn't you name it?" He asked, Mirabelle always insisted farmers name their animals upon purchase. She must have forgotten given the inconventual circumstances of the cows selection.

"Are names that important?" She asked.

Vaughn was taken aback, "what?"

"Where I come from you earn your name, I went five years without one. Though most people never get them."

Of course, she wasn't referring to her birthplace but rather, the Deadman army. Originally no soldiers had names since they "didn't exist". However, some gathered such a reputation that they had to be called something since they had become the object of conversation. Chelsea had never liked the name Reaper, but she was pretty much asking for it with her black attire and choice of weapon.

Vaughn shook his head but insisted, "Really you should give your cow a name. You say you respect her but you won't name her? Isn't that contradictory?"

"I guess that's true" she sighed. "Milky?" She suggested.

He snorted, "Does that giant monster look like a 'Milky'?"

"I guess not" she said. "Terminator?"

"I'm not letting you name your cow that."

"Bonecrusher-"

"Milky's fine." He interrupted.

"Great!" She said brightly.

He sighed in defeat and looked at the poor beast empathetically. The cow would never understand what injustice had been brought unto her.

Leading the rancher to the barn Vaughn gave her another brief tour. "Now I suggest you talk to, groom and milk your cow every day."

The rancher nodded.

"Cows like that stuff and a happy cow leads to better quality milk. Now if there aren't any other questions…?"

Chelsea looked up at him blankly and he took that as a 'no'. He nodded and left the barn.

She sat down next to the cow. "Sup?" She asked.

The cow grunted a response and to two sat in awkward silence.

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**Aww Chelsea made a cow friend. Next chapter will come out soonish**


	5. Natalie's Shadows

**Next Chapter is now out! The physics exam by the way, was a complete mess. Yep. Hopefully IB conversions will save me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran Highschool host club. LOL I mean Harvest Moon, I do not own Harvest Moon. It took me months to notice this mistake.**

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A cicada buzzed somewhere in the distance as Chelsea made her way down one of the island's dirt walkways. Almost overnight, it had become summer. The girl was knew at farming and had no idea her crops would all wilt overnight. She sighed, money would be tight and she didn't have that much for seeds. Crying to Taro would be admitting her mistakes, something she desperately didn't want to do.

A long walk was proving to soothe the dejected rancher. She began to contemplate her possibilities. Forging didn't make her that much and mining wasn't a possibility while her hammer was in such a state of disrepair. She had tried to mine earlier that week and the handle of the old tool snapped in half.

"Aww, is the little Chelsea feeling sad?" asked a voice mockingly. Chelsea turned to see Natalee.

"It's nothing." She smiled. The pink haired girl scowled and turned back into her house. Chelsea shock her head, what was that girl's problem?

"Um…"

Chelsea jumped. Elliot! When had that guy gotten behind her? She wheeled around. He was standing with Julia, both looking a little awkward.

"Sorry about my sister. She's a real bully."

"It's no problem!" Said Chelsea brightly.

"No, it is!" Exclaimed Elliot with sudden vigor, "she was trying to hurt your feelings! A bully's the worst kind of person!"

Julia's expression darkened, "…yeah" she managed to mumble.

Chelsea blinked, they were really over-reacting, and she didn't think anything Natalee had said was particularly hurtful.

"I'm going to talk to her right now!" He said.

"You don't have to, it's really alright!" Chelsea tried to convince him.

"No! Bullying is inexcusable!" He said stomping into the house. Chelsea stood awkwardly and then turned to Julia. The girl looked sad but she couldn't figure out why.

"Is something wrong?" Asked the rancher, Julia smiled lightly.

"No, nothing. Thanks for asking…" She looked away, "I promised to go meet with Lanna so…. See you later." She said and walked away. Chelsea rubbed the back of her head. Something was definitely wrong. Deciding that there was nothing she could do about it at that time she shrugged and decided to look for some herbs in the forest, she needed money wherever she could get it.

At the bridge, she was stopped. "HEY YOU!" It was Natalee again.

"Sup?" Asked the brunette.

"I can't believe you went and tattled on me on my wimpy brother!" The girl's angry face was as pink as her hair. "Seriously, you need to grow another layer of skin you delicate baby! I hardly said anything to you!"

Chelsea sweat dropped. "Sorry, he just sorta' overheard…"

"Arrggg!" She grunted and nudged past Chelsea and into the forest. That girl obviously had some anger issues to resolve. Regretfully, Chelsea followed her in.

The mushrooms and coloured grass she found were pitiable. Since it was just the beginning of the season, they hadn't had the time to grow to good quality.

Taking the bit of money she made for the day, the weary farmer slogged to the diner for dinner. Recently, the island had started to attract visitors after the establishment of it's inn and hotel. The island was tolerating a particularly rowdy crowd of young men on vacation. As she tried to quietly eat a drunken one made his way to her table.

"Heeeeey baby." He slurred. She repressed a scowl, she hated people who allowed themselves to become intoxicated beyond their senses. Back in the army a man who walked up to her with that kind of demeanor would quickly find himself missing a head.

"Wanna party, *hic*, with us?"

"No thanks," she said evenly and got up to slap her days savings on Jerry's counter. She left the diner in disgust and did a quick once-over of the eastern side of the island. She found a couple herbs growing a distance in front of the hotel but on closer inspection they were still puny and D ranked quality. She left them to grow and walked the long way back to the western side. She sighed, there was nothing else to forage.

A distance near Taro's house she saw a frightening sight. The group in the diner had finished up and left while she was loitering and were now approaching Natalee.

"Hey, nice hair. What'cha' say to spendin' some time with us little lady?" Asked a tall burley man who appeared to be in his early twenties. They really chose the wrong girl to hit on. Natalee glared.

"No, Not in a million years tubbo." She spat at the ground between his feet. Chelsea cringed, what the heck was that girl thinking there were five of them and they were all really big, really nasty and really REALLY drunk.

"What did you call me?" Asked the guy accusingly.

"Tubbo. Tubbo!" She said. He roared and grabbed for her wrist. She kneed him in… *cough* a delicate place. The man hunched over and Chelsea nodded her approval. Then he was back up. And angry. Two men grabbed either of her arms.

"You little…" He said. "You're going to pay for that!" He lifted his massive arm in preparation to punch her. _This is where I step in_ thought Chelsea. Before his fist made contact with Natalee's stomach, the rancher rocketed forward and kicked the big guy with both legs square between the shoulders. The man yelled in pain and turned to Chelsea running at her with a murderous expression. She hooked his left arm and toppled the giant over. His friends came to avenge him but were clumsy in their drunken state. One tried to land an awkward punch. Chelsea dodged easily and returned a well-placed one over to the chest. He crumpled into himself. Running between the next two she spun around and grabbed both of their meaty noggins- then smashed them together.

The last one almost seemed a little sober and stood there sizing the short girl up. Before he had time to move, she round housed- Chuck Norris style- the guy's head and he flew a metre to the ground.

The girl glared at the fallen men in disgust. "Come back when your sober you filthy pigs."

"Wow." Said Natalee.

Chelsea was mmediatly brought out of her anger and glanced at the other islander in embarrassment. "S-sorry about that!" She stuttered.

For the first time, Natalee grinned at her. "No worries! You were really cool right there!" Now, it was her turn to be embarrassed. "Sorry, about everything I've said to you before…"

Chelsea smiled, "It's noth-"

"It's not nothing!" Said Natalee. "I've been really unfair to you! Let me make it up to you!"

Chelsea looked at her confused.

"Let me come over tomorrow and I'll make you breakfast!" Begged the pinkette in embarrassment.

"Make… breakfast?" Asked Chelsea.

"Yeah," said the girl grinning and pumping her fist, "I may not look it but I'm a pretty awesome chef if I do say so myself!"

"But I don't have a kitchen!" Chelsea fussed.

"Then I'll bring breakfast! No buts!" She said and marched away.

Chelsea took one last doubtful glance at the men sprawled out on the sidewalk and then headed up to her ranch.

Chelsea's eyes grew as wide as saucers, "this is really, really good!" She squealed taking another bite of the fluffy pancakes. She hadn't eaten a properly cooked meal in ages.

Natalee grinned in embarrassment, "It's not THAT good." She protested.

"No!" Argued Chelsea, "It probably one of the best things I've ever tasted!"

Natalee smiled but then went serious. She hugged her waist, a gesture Chelsea had often seen her do. "I've treated you really badly, and for no good reason."

"I'm sure there was some sort of reason." Said Chelsea.

"No! There wasn't… It's just… You are always so happy and it made me jealous, that you can always look at the world in such joy. The entire town is like that! Why am I the only person who's become so rotten?" Asked Natalee, she clenched at the fabric around her waist. "I know I've become a bully, and I hate myself for that. I just don't like seeing the rest of the world be so happy when I'm so miserable! Can you forgive me?"

Chelsea nodded. She thought she understood Natalee pretty well. Often on this island when she saw the other islanders genuinely happy, she felt a little sad and left out. "It's fine, really. In fact, I was never really bothered. I've been told must worse." _Monster, Murderer, Heartless piece of... _"Anyway, I find your non-forced attitude kind of refreshing."

Natalee sighed, "Obviously, you've been though some garbage too. To be able to fight like that."

"Too?" Enquired Chelsea.

"I… used to be bullied. A lot. So I learned to stand up for myself. Somewhere along the way I forgot the difference between standing up and bullying. I just hate being vulnerable so I put on this hard shell, but I'm getting tired of holding it up all the time."

"You don't have to when you're hanging with me okay?" Smiled Chelsea.

"Fine" Grinned Natalee back. "But then only smile at me when you're genuinely happy or else it wouldn't be fair."

Chelsea eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Come on." Said Natalee, "No one's THAT happy".

"True enough." Chelsea grinned. From there the conversation turned to lighter topics. Eventually Natalee left and Chelsea returned to her farm work.

Outside was literally wafting heat. She sighed, even if she did gather the money for seeds, they wouldn't grow in this heat wave. The most she could do was make sure her animals were comfortable.

* * *

**Chapter Done! I hope Natalee and Chelsea can become good friends despite their rocky beginnings. I wonder what's up with Julia and Elliot though? Next chapter. _Elliot and Julia's Shadows_**


	6. Julia and Elliot's Shadows

**This next chapter's a long one,**

**disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon**

* * *

_That night someone had been watching the two girls. Elliot stood petrified as he stuck a peek through the house's front window. Four large men had approached his sister. He prayed to the goddess with all his heart that his sister wouldn't do something rash. She kicked the first man in the crotch and he winced. "Darn it Natalie!" He mumbled under his breath._

_The men were mad now. Two of them grabbed either of her arms. Elliot had to move, he had to go help her! He had promised his dad that he'd be the man of the house, that he'd take care of his little sister yet, every time she got into trouble he was paralyzed with crippling fear. His legs shook as he made an effort to move them. Even if he did go to help her, what good would he do? He was so weak._

_He had always carried an immense guilt. He could never help her. All those times in the past where she was pushed around by his classmates and he'd just watch on helplessly from a safe distance. He watched her grow strong and cursed that he was still so weak. Since no one had ever helped her, he had watched through the years as his sister became hard and bitter. It had to be his punishment when she started bullying him._

_The man prepared to punch her and he held his breath. _

It was Tuesday, two days after the reconciliation with Natalie and the weather was not getting any better. The animals were miserable in the heat, no rain had fallen and even most of the herbs Chelsea had been waiting to harvest were shriveling up. Yep, the only things thriving were the weeds.

She splashed a bucket of water over milky and she mooed happily. "There ya go girl, sorry that's the most I can do for you right now." Chelsea said patting the large animal. Shockingly, that cow she had brought home the month before, wasn't even a mature cow yet. Milky had become a giant. Chelsea had to make sure not to anger the irritable cow or her rampage could quite literally mow down everything in its path.

She stepped outside, and groaned. The heat was unbearable. Leaving the farm she decided to stock up on bottled water. If there was going to be a drought, the price would skyrocket.

Elliot stood nervously at her front gate. "Hey… Chelsea."

"Hello!" She responded brightly.

"I just wanted to say. Thanks a lot for helping my sister." He said quietly.

"It was really nothing at all." She said and started to continue walking.

"You know," he said suddenly and she stopped again and looked at him.

"I really admire you for standing up to those guys, how do you do it?" He asked, looking down at the ground.

"Pardon?" She blinked.

"How do you muster up the strength to stand up to people who are bigger then you?" He asked.

Chelsea froze and thought about it. It had been awhile since she had felt fear, certainly not against those drunks but… it looked like Elliot needed reassuring. If she said she wasn't scared it wouldn't make him feel any better.

"I guess," she started, "If the cause is important enough, You'll find a strength inside you that you didn't know you have."

He didn't look any bit better.

"But Natalie's a strong girl! I'm sure that you don't need to worry about her, she's learned her lesson!" She said quickly.

He bowed his head even lower, _what a depressing guy, _thought Chelsea.

"I know that but still, I'm just so weak." He balled his fists, "You see, there's this girl I like…"

_Julia?_ It was pretty obvious to everyone that they were into each other.

"But recently, she's been acting weird around me… I should of known she'd never like me. Someone who is so weak and girlish like me could never make her happy."

Girlish? Did he think girls were weak? Keeping her smile her eyes narrowed slightly. Had she not just kicked four guys' butts?

As if feeling a demonic aura wafting over to him he jolted upright, "NotThatIThinkGirlsAreWeak!" Chelsea's annoyance was quelled and he slouched in relief.

"Anyway," he said with renewed determination, "Please teach me how to be a man!" He blurted.

Chelsea face palmed. Like she knew how to be a man! He should ask Denny or somebody. She was about to glare at him but froze, how could she say no to those puppy-dog eyes?

"Fine," she muttered, "be here this time tomorrow."

"Thank you so much!" He said and ran off. What a weird little fellow. _In the meantime _thought Chelsea, abandoning her water goals, _I should check in with Julia._

The whole process seemed unnecessary, she was pretty sure that Julia liked him too for whatever reason. Julia hadn't just been weird with Elliot recently, she was acting weird in general.

She found the girl tending to the cows at the ranch. Hopping the fence, Chelsea grinned and waved.

"Chelsea." Said Julia, "What's up?"

She froze, she hadn't thought through what she was going to say… "Erm, Has something been bothering you?" She asked, going straight to the point.

"No… I'm fine." She was lying, Chelsea could tell.

"Does it have something to do with Elliot?" She asked. Julia's eyes widened,

"How'd you?… No."

Chelsea sighed. Obviously it did have something to do with the pink haired boy, but she wasn't going to say anything more so she decided to let her off, "Alright, just feel free to talk to me anytime."

Julia nodded gratefully, "Thanks a lot."

* * *

Vaughn blinked in confusion, what the heck was he doing?

_Finally the cowboy had finished with the paperwork and had inspected all of the animals. He wondered what he was going to do now. Maybe, he'd wander the forest. He liked that place, it was quiet and much more peaceful than anywhere in the city. Stepping out of the shop he blinked, momentarily blinded by the sunlight, his violet eyes weren't very good when it was very bright. Immediately he felt a hand grab his wrist. _

"_Come with me!" Said a feminine voice and before he could gather his bearings he was being pulled up towards Chelsea's farm. Looking down he could see the red bandanna of the perpetrator._

"Okay! Lesson number one!" She declared standing on a tree stump. Vaughn practically growled at the rancher and the bespectacled boy standing beside him flinched. "Chelsea," he said in a low voice. "You have three seconds to tell me what's going on before I leave."

"Well you see," she said, "Elliot here is trying to become more manly to impress your cousin, and so I got the manliest person I could think of to come and help with today's lesson!"

The cowboy could feel a warmth touch his cheeks that was not caused by the heat wave and quickly lowered his stenson over his face.

"see right there!" Said Chelsea to Elliot, "Number one, a guy has to try to hide his true feelings. Vaughn was embarrassed by my comment so he hid his expression."

Elliot nodded and began to write notes on a piece of paper. Vaughn clenched his fists, _this girl! _

"Oh! And now he's angry that his feelings were found out and is choosing to hide them with anger! I was told once this is called being tsundere!" She said excitedly.

He was done here, he could not take one more second of this assault. He sent her his best glare and was annoyed to see that she was completely unaffected, she even grinned a little. "Did you see how manly that glare was Elliot?"

The boy nodded his head while frantically writing more notes. The cowboy turned around and began to leave. "Wait! Vaughn!" She shouted, "We still need you!"

He ground his teeth and began to walk faster.

The next morning, Elliot came back. "Hey Chelsea." He said.

"Hello!" She smiled.

"I feel pretty bad for the way we treated Vaughn yesterday, I think we should apologize." He said quietly.

"Actually," she said with sudden inspiration, "You go apologize!"

"What?" He exclaimed, "but that guy's terrifying!"

"Exactly!" She said, "Wasn't that the problem? That you could stand up to big guys?"

"I-I guess" he said. He looked up with one of the most determined expressions Chelsea had ever seen on him, "I'll do it!" He said.

She nodded her head, "yes, YES! That's the spirit Onwards my young disciple!" She would never tell the boy that the main reason he was going to apologize was because she didn't want to. She regretted nothing.

Vaughn yawned, he had had a hard time sleeping the night before. He wasn't used to girls being so forward with him and he regretfully admitted that it had been bothering his thoughts. Had he gotten soft? His glares could usually sent anyone in the near-vicinity running.

A meek voice interrupted his thoughts, "Hey Vaughn."

He turned and glared. The boy shrunk a little but to his credit, didn't run. "I just wanted to say sorry, Chelsea kind of over-did it yesterday…"

The white-haired man sighed, "It's fine".

Just then, a flash of red was visible and he scowled, "Chelsea! Get out from behind that bush!"

She got out and grimaced. "I used to be a lot better at hiding! Honest! Its 'cause I've started wearing bright colours!"

Vaughn's brow rose, he couldn't imagine the cheery rancher in dark colours. He was contemplating commenting but all three froze as a scream pierced through the air.

"Julia!" Called Elliot and he broke into a run. Chelsea and Vaughn exchanged looks and then sprinted to catch up. The sight waiting for him made his blood freeze. Julia stood petrified in front of the chicken coop. The doors were wide open fully revealing the mess inside.

"This-This is my fault, I left the door open last night!" She sobbed.

Vaughn erupted, "YOU IDIOT! LOOK WHAT THE WILD DOGS HAVE DONE!" He was shaking in anger. "You've been so distracted lately and now thanks to you, the chickens are all dead!"

Julia gasped. "Yes." She said in almost a whisper. "It's my fault, it's always my fault."

Chelsea smiled, "It's fine Julia mistakes happen!"

Vaughn wheeled on her, "IT'S NOT FINE! How can you be smiling at a time like this you freak!" Chelsea froze.

Usually Julia would be scolding Vaughn at this time for talking to her friends like that but she was silent. Tears were freely falling down her face. "Because of me, more lives have ended! I'm a monster!" She ran off.

In that second Vaughn realized just how harsh he was.

"Why did you say all of that?!" Yelled Elliot. He blinked in surprise, "Julia was already feeling awful! I'm going to go look for her!"

The bespecicled boy ran off and Vaughn turned to Chelsea, "Chelsea I-" The girl was looking at the sky blankly.

"I see…" She said, "So there are times where its inappropriate to smile?"

"Uh.. Yeah?" He said.

"Huh." She shook herself out of her trance and grabbed his arm. "Follow me!" She said and dragged him in the direction of the forest.

"What are we doing?" He asked.

"I want to see what happens between Elliot and Julia! I've become too invested in this cause to miss out on the juicy part!" She yelled.

Vaughn shook his head in disbelief. "Either way, we won't be able to find them now" He told her.

"Oh yes we will!" she said.

Releasing his arm she glanced over the nearby underbrush. "This way!" She said. Great so now she's a dash hound. He had no doubt in his mind that they were going to get lost. She stopped, examined the ground and pointed to the east, "Now that way!" He shook his head again, _why was he following her?_

Eventually they actually did hear voices. She put a hand to his mouth and he blushed at the contact quickly swiping her hand away and lowering his stenson.

"Thank you Elliot… but it really is my fault" said a sad voice.

"You can't beat yourself up about it too much Julia."

"I know."

"Has there been something else bothering you?"

"Eh?"

At this point Chelsea had taken off her bandanna, (she wasn't making the same mistake twice in the same day!) and began to creep closer to the pair, Vaughn followed reluctantly. Soon the two were in view.

"What do you mean?" Asked Julia.

"You've been acting really weird recently, something's wrong right?" Elliot asked with a concerned expression.

"No, it's nothing really! I just… Don't worry about it" she said squeezing her arm.

"Of course I worry about it!" Said Elliot firmly, "I really like you Julia!"

Vaughn rolled his eyes at the corniness and received and elbow to the ribs from the brunette beside him.

"No you don't," she said, "You've been spending a lot of time with Chelsea right? I could see why you like her, she's pretty and really sunny and nice!"

Vaughn glanced at Chelsea from the corner of his eye but his eyes jerked back when she glanced up at him.

"You're wrong!" He said, "Chelsea's just been teaching me how to be manlier so I could be someone worthy of you!"

Julia smiled sadly, "The problem isn't you, I really like nice, quiet Elliot. It's me."

Vaughn suddenly realized what she was thinking of, he was her cousin after all. _She's still punishing herself for that?_

"What do you mean?" Asked Elliot.

"You've said it yourself, you hate people like me, or at least who I used to be."

"I don't follow." He said.

"I-" She started, "I used to be a bully!" She blurted.

He took a step back. "What do you mean?"

Vaughan knew this story and the memories of their high school years resurfaced in his head.

_She was without a doubt, the queen bee of the school. The girl that the audience is taught to hate in every chick flick in existence. The sweet little girl Vaughn knew in his childhood had transformed over the years. Since grade four every boy in the class would follow after her and this had no doubt, warped his cousin's thought process. Beauty and popularity meant everything to her and she looked down on the girls who didn't agree. Her friends began to bully a certain girl and Julia had gleefully joined in. _

_The girl was small and possessed the largest, timid eyes he had ever seen. He never really spoke to her, or even had an interest to but he would see her every day in the halls walking slightly hunched with a stack of books. She never paid much attention to her appearance and didn't really fit into high school's social norms. To Julia, she was practically spitting in the popular girl's face by disregarding the system she loved._

_Vaughn always felt some guilt, that perhaps he should intervened but Julia never really got physical with her bullying so he figured it was alright. The emotionless teenager didn't understand how much psychological bullying could hurt a person, him nor Julia. Until one day, the girl killed herself._

_It was all over the news. Julia and her friends were treated like criminals both on the streets and at school. No one was harder on Julia then Julia herself however. It was as if everything clicked, the way she treated others in school actually did impact them._

_One night Vaughn had gotten up for a glass of water, the digital clock at his bed side shone 3:40 AM. Half asleep he had wondered out of his room only to notice a light on in his cousin's room. Peeking in, he could she her asleep at her desk, hands blue with ink. Several papers were sprawled out under her with different addresses. She was writing heart-filled apology letters to every person she had ever been mean to. She had been thorough, no missing a single person, even the ones who had long since moved away._

_Weeks later she actually did receive some letters back. They were probably the most venomous things he had ever seen. Two weeks later he, his cousin, and his aunt moved to the country. No one said goodbye. _

"I hurt so many people!" She cried, "One girl even hung herself!" She looked about ready to crack. Her eyes were wide as if she was still, several years later, trying to comprehend what had happened. "She is dead, because of me… Just like those poor chickens. What had they ever done wrong?" She asked hysterically.

When Elliot should have comforted her, when he should have held her close and told her that he still loved her, he looked at her coldly and turned away.


	7. J & E's Shadows p2

**Don't Own Harvest Moon. To be honest not much happens in this short chapter, just trying to get back into the rhythm. The next chapter should be out soon though and I'll be sure to get back on track**

* * *

Tears filled Julia's eyes and she ran off further into the forest. Vaughn and Chelsea emerged from the bushes.

"Uh, hey guys-" Started Elliot but before he could fully prepare himself Vaughn punched him in the jaw and he fell back. "What was tha-"

"YOU IDIOT!" Vaughn was seething, how dare that coward make Julia open up like that only to shoot her down. "Why didn't you comfort her?!"

Elliot rubbed his jaw in irritation but made no move to stand up, "I loved Julia because I thought she was beautiful and kind but obviously she's not who I thought she was."

Vaughn's glare only darkened, he was getting to a dangerously angry point where he might just lose it. Sensing this, Elliot nervously glanced to Chelsea as if begging for help but froze in terror. Vaughn glanced back at her in response to Elliot's reaction and all anger dissolved to shock.

That was Chelsea standing there for sure but she seemed like an entirely different person. She was glaring at Elliot with an intensity he didn't know was possible in human expressions let alone the goofy farmer's.

Her voice was low as she stepped forwards and even Vaughn felt his hairs stand on end and backed down.

"So that's it?" She said in a flat tone. "You're judging her by who she used to be? I'm disappointed in you, we ALL have bones in our closets."

"I've never intentionally hurt someone like that before though!" He protested.

"Whatever." She said uncaringly, "At least Julia grew out of her problems, you know, I've heard once that bystanders are just as bad as the bullies themselves. Don't think I didn't see you trembling behind the curtains the night Natalie got attacked."

He froze and then stood up slowly, "I have to think." Then he left.

Vaughn snapped out of his shock and grunted, "Good riddance. He's not good enough for my cousin!"

Just as soon as she was angry she was happy again and he involuntarily shivered, he wasn't going to get on that rancher's bad side. "I'll go look for her." He said.

"That won't be necessary." Said Chelsea.

"What do you mean?" He asked in irritation.

"Did you notice which way he left?" She told him. He paused for a moment. Sure enough he left in the opposite direction of the bridge, towards the way Julia went. "Give them some time." She said holding the corner of his sleeve gently.

He nodded and reluctantly admitted,  
"You know, you're surprisingly smart sometimes."

She was silent so he tuned to her and grimaced. A smug grin was slammed across her face. He immediately regretted his words.

"Hehehe" She laughed evilly, "I'll hold those words against you for the rest of your life!"

He cringed, it was hard to believe that she had such a serious expression just seconds earlier. "Never mind, I must have been mistaken, stupid." He said.

She grinned wider, "Says the one wearing all black in a heat wave!" She stuck out her tongue and ran away and he was left blinking in confusion. _That girl! _Still, she said some pretty sound advice. She said that people's pasts don't matter. Would she still be saying that if she knew his? Probably not. He pulled his stenson lower over his face and began to stalk out of the woods.

It was a Thursday so whatever happened between Julia and Elliot, he'd have to find out next week. He half hoped she'd punch him.

A week had passed and Vaughn had returned to the island he had arrived late Wednesday night and immediately went to bed. What was waiting in the kitchen the next morning was a surprise. Along with Julia, Chelsea and Natalie were sitting at the large breakfast table.

"Heeeyy Vaughn!" Said Chelsea waving frantically. He rubbed his temple, it was way too early in the morning to put up with her antics.

"Sup." Added Natalie.

"Julia." He groaned, "When I heard you accepted that pink-haired wimp, I thought I might be getting a break from you." He sent Chelsea and Natalie a dirty look, "I didn't think I'd have to put up with two more nuisances."

"Cow boy's grumpy in the morning…" Mumbled Chelsea in a tone that suggested he hadn't phased her.

"Cowboy's ALWAYS grumpy." Corrected Natalie.

"Come on Vaughn! Isn't it better with more people at the breakfast table?" Asked Julia cheerfully.

"If you get down on your hands and knees I may let you try one of my pancakes." Said Natalie haughtily.

"They're sooo good!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"I'm not going to beg." He said sitting at the table.

"Then no pancakes for you!" Chelsea said pulling the pancake plate away just as he was about to plunge his fork in the stack. The look he sent her was murderous. He couldn't help but wonder If his boss was trying to kill him sending him two days a week to this crazy island.

"So Chelsea, how's that monster cow of yours?" Asked Julia.

Vaughn glanced at the farmer, this was a topic he too was curious about.

"Milky's doing good. She actually a pretty sweet girl… Although she hopped the fence and tried to eat my chicken once…." Chelsea told them.

Julia shuttered. "Yikes! That is not normal you know."

"How's the chicken doing?" Asked Vaughn, a little scared to ask.

"She's fine." Grinned Chelsea. "I got in there and stopped the cow, and taught her a bit of a lesson while I was at it."

_What kind of lesson? Did that girl teach it? _Wondered Vaughn.

"Plus I trained my chicken in basic self defense." Smiled Chelsea.

Julia laughed. The sad part was, Chelsea wasn't joking.

"Anyway, I got to get going." Said Chelsea, and she left.

Her new hammer was in and she was itching to mine.

* * *

_The giant wall of the Deadman armory exploded by the impact of the little girl's punch. She stepped out from the rubble and glanced around at the mass of trees surrounding her. Where did Reaper go? How big was the outside world anyway? The orange eyes of the girl stayed neutral despite the large task ahead of her. She needed to find the young captain soon, she couldn't stand being alone any longer._

_"Captain" She said slowly, thinking about the brunette scythe wielder. "Where are you?" _

* * *

**Yes, I know... An OC. Give her a chance though. I need her for the plot. If you are wondering what she looks like, her character design was inspired off of Strength from Black Rock Shooter.**


	8. Enter Mysterious Girl

**Alrighty, I'm back again with two new chapters! If the next of isn't out yet it will be in two seconds. Thanks a lot to everyone who commented so far, it gives me the inspiration to keep going on with the story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own harvest moon**

* * *

_Blood, blood everywhere. The brunette walked down the empty streets, disturbingly undisturbed by the blood splattered all over her skin and clothes. Very little of it was her own. To the people watching her from behind the boarded windows of their homes she looked like the harbinger of death. Cold eyes showed very little mercy. So beautiful. So ugly._

_She kicked in the door of the shack at the bottom of the street. Yes, this is the man. Cowering in the corner, she grinned sadistically and lifted her scythe._

Chelsea rocketed up from her dream. How odd was it that she was always the monster in nightmares? At first she couldn't recall who she was, her fingers were shakeing and her mind was dangerously blank. People died when Reaper's mind went blank. Though, she wasn't Reaper anymore… Right she was Chelsea. Wait. Who was Chelsea again? She stumbled over to the cupboard and pulled out her pills. Through shaking hands she managed to pop the medication in the mouth. Slumping against the wall she slid down to the floor and glanced into the container.

She was nearly out of pills. If she lost sight of herself without them who knows how she'd get back.

It had been a regular day at work. Vaughn wandered out of the office. He always hated the paperwork days of the week. It was already getting dark once the stack of papers were finally clear.

He hurried as fast as possible along the illuminated path home. This was not a safe part of town.

"White-haired freak!" he heard a man yell. He wheeled around in anger but was confused to see that no one was there. He walked over to the bridge and glanced over. A little girl with snow-white hair was surrounded by a crowd of teenaged thugs.

To her credit, she was unfazed by their intimidating stature. One pushed her and she fell over. This wasn't an irregular occurrence, not in this town but he somehow felt drawn to help her. Perhaps because she too probably had to suffer the indignity of white hair. He pulled out his phone and played the sound of police sirens. He leaned over the rail of the bridge slightly and yelled "Hey You!"

That was enough to spook the teens and they dispersed. The little girl looked up at him as he made his way down the hill. White hair _and_ off coloured eyes, he could definitely feel her pain. "Its not safe here." he said.

"I can see that." Said the girl quietly, she must have only been six or seven.

"Shouldn't you be at home?" He asked.

"I don't have one." She said.

"Where are your parents?" He tried again.

"I don't have any." She said again in the same emotionless tone. Closer up he could see that the girl was unnaturally skinny. She looked sick.

"When was the last time you ate?" He asked.

"….." She didn't respond at first, "two days ago."

It was getting harder and harder to leave her there. He wasn't foolish enough to let her in his house though, she could very well be working with that gang. You couldn't trust anyone in this city, even the children. His glanced at his watch and sighed, he really wanted to get home.

"Come with me." He said.

He took the girl to a near-by McDonalds and got her a happy meal. The two sat at a booth near the window. She examined the food carefully.

"Eat." He sat.

She picked up a fry and put it in her mouth. Her eyes widened a little. "It's good." She ate a little faster.

"Don't eat too fast, you're going to hurl." He told her. She nodded.

In the crudely bright light of the fast food restaurant he could see her more clearly. Her skin was shockingly tan against her white hair and orange eyes. She was dressed completely in shiny black.

He sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Eating." She said.

"No, I mean in this city."

"I'm looking for someone."

Finally some progress. This was something he could work with. "Who?"

"A lady." She said.

"What's her name?" He asked.

"Dunno, she probably changed it." She opened the small package of nuggets.

He frowned, how did she expect to find this woman without a name? Why would she change it in the first place?

"What's your name?" He asked.

"I don't have one" She replied. This was hopeless. She had finished her nuggets and was looking at him with a blank expression. It was impossible to tell what was going on behind those empty eyes. He reached into his pocket and procured a twenty. He handed it to the girl.

"Use this to buy food." He said and got up to leave.

As he passed her she said in a quiet tone, almost too quiet to hear, "Thank you." He ruffled her hair and left.

The girl put her hand to her head and felt the spot the man touched. Reaper did that to her sometimes too. _Reaper, where are you?_

Chelsea sneezed and dust in the mine shot up. "Bleah." She stuck out her tongue trying to get the taste of dirt out of her mouth. Her backpack was getting satisfyingly full, she was going to eat well for at least a week now. She mined a few more rocks but knew that it was time to return to the surface, her stamina was running out.

She put the ores in the shipping bin and glanced around her dry field. The crops were wilting, she felt so useless. They needed rain.

Two days later Vaughn returned to the city from forget-me-not valley. He saw the girl again outside his building, she was still wearing the same clothes but looked a little more healthy. A woman walked by her and she stopped her. "Excuse me."

The women looked a little off put by the girl.

"Have you seen a lady with brown hair and blue eyes?" The girl asked.

"Yes." Said the woman.

"Really? Asked the girl excitedly. This was the first time he had seen emotion on her usually placid face.

"Yeah," said the lady, then kind of angrily, "I've seen hundreds" and then she walked of in a huff.

The girl slumped against the building brick wall. That's when she noticed the man.

"You." She said to Vaughn.

"No luck?" He asked.

The girl shook her head. She looked tired and upset. He sighed, it was getting harder for him to leave the girl alone. "Come with me." He said.

"You don't have to buy me food again." Said the girl, "I haven't finished up the money you gave me."

"That's not where I'm taking you." He said. "If you want to find this woman you should ask the police."

"No." She said suddenly. "I can't go there."

"They aren't bad people." He said.

"I can't go." She repeated adamantly.

He clenched his fist. "Fine. Though it's not safe in this city for a girl to be wandering out alone."

"But I'm fine." She said.

"No you're not." He said, his voice raising, "What about when I first found you? Those men were going to hurt you."

"I wanted them to." She said quietly. "I wanted to die."

So he had ended up taking the girl up to his apartment. He indicated for her to sit at the table so she did, he sat across from her.

"What did you mean by you wanted to die." He asked evenly.

"I come from a very bad place where there is very bad people." She said.

"But you're not there now." He said.

"Yes, I'm not there now." she agreed.

"Then why do you want to die?" He asked.

"I don't."

This girl was frustrating him. Is this how people found it when they talked to him?

"But you did."

"Because I found out that those people were bad too. I thought maybe all people were bad."

"Then why do you want to live?"

"Because I met you, and you weren't a bad person."

With a response like that he couldn't kick her out. He regretted letting her in. "You can keep looking for her." He said. "But stay here at night, it's not safe."

"Alright." She said.

"I need something to call you though." He said. "What do you want to be called?"

"I want… you to name me." She said.

He stopped and thought. Sarah, Jessica, Sally? They didn't fit.

"Ruth." He said. "It was my grandmother's name."

"Did you like your grandmother?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Okay."

For the next couple days, things went the same. She would leave the apartment the same time he did to look for the woman. When he returned from work, she would be waiting for him outside the apartment building and they'd walk in together. On one occasion he bought her a change of clothes. He hated to admit it but the girl was growing on him.

Problems arose when he had to return to Sunshine Island. The night before He sat her down and looked closely into her eyes. "I'm going to be gone for two days for work."

She nodded. "Alright."

"Take this." He said, "It's a key, don't let anyone else in."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You're…. to me?"

It might not have been the best idea. Giving a young child you've known only a couple days a key to your house, but he couldn't throw her out on the streets. The girl was also very mature for her age and there really wasn't anything of value in his house. There was no point when he wasn't home very often.

"Can I trust you?" He asked.

The girl nodded.

* * *

**Yeah, I'm getting back to focusing on the main characters now. I know it's annoying when OC's take over a story but I just thought she would be a good link between Vaughn and Chelsea. Plus She's crucial to the plot as I said earlier. **


	9. Denny's Shadows

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Harvest Moon and do not see any changes in that anywhere in the near-or far- future.**

* * *

Another sunny day on Sunshine Islands. Chelsea stroked her cow. Sometimes she wished everything wasn't always so peachy. It truly was as if the Deadman army did not exist. The island was like a bright light blinding everyone from the dark. That didn't mean it wasn't there tough. It wasn't right.

"That really is one giant cow." Said a deep voice.

Chelsea turned around in surprise, "Vaughn?"

He lower his stenson over his eyes, "I just thought I should check your cow… You said it tried to eat your chicken?"

Chelsea patted the cow's neck, "Yup! That's Milky for you!"

"Still a ridiculous name." Scoffed Vaughn.

"I think its quite practical." She said putting her hand to her chin. "Her primary job on this farm is to make milk, thus, Milky."

"Then why isn't your chicken Eggy?" He asked.

"Flap's daughter is Eggy! And the Rooster is Eggbert but he doesn't make eggs…" She said.

Oh, the conversations those two got into, he put a gloved hand over his face in defeat. He then walked over to the cow and inspected her. She wasn't sick, and obviously not malnourished. Really there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, physically that is.

He wasn't usually one to make conversation so it surprised him when he asked, "Did anything happen this week while I was gone?"

"Nope." She said, but remembered, "Actually it rained!" She told him excitedly.

"That's good." He said, "Mirabelle's animals were getting restless in the heat, I'm sure yours were too."

"Definitely!" She said, "And you wouldn't want to see this one restless!"

"No I wouldn't. He agreed.

"Anyway," she said, "I got to go, Denny's teaching me how to fish today!"

"Alright." He said.

"Chelsea!" Called the fisherman, "Over here!"

The farmer put on a grin and stumbled over in the sand.

"Park yourself here," he said patting the dock. She sat down and pulled out her pole.

"Okay so the first thing to do is tie a knot like this…" The fisherman picked up the fish line and knoted it.

The farmer nodded and tied the line like shown.

"Great, now you-" Denny went quiet and Chelsea look at him in concern.

"DENNY! CHELSEA!" Shouted a voice. She turn to see who Denny was waving at but the voice had already given her away.

"Hey Lanna." He said as she approached Chelsea nodded her head.

"Hi!" Said the pop star practically bursting rainbows. "Denny, could I talk to you for a sec?"

He turned to Chelsea and she smiled to tell him that it was okay. He nodded a thanks and took off to the other side of the beach. She watched them go. She liked Lanna, but at the same time didn't. Was it because she was too bubbly? No, or else she'd dislike Julia. Maybe it was just how material the girl seemed. Frilly house, frilly clothes, frilly personality. The girl stood out in stark contrast to what she herself was used to.

Denny came back over and said his sorrys before returning to the lesson. Chelsea could tell something was off, he seemed distracted. What had Lanna and him talked about that could phase the carefree fisherman?

"All right." He said, "That's all you need to know."

"Thanks." She said, eyeing him carefully looking for a hint.

He frowned and let his gaze wander over the sea before them.

"Did Lanna say something to you?" She asked.

"Nah," he replied, "just asked if I wanted to go boating with her next week. There's a lot of huge fish away from the shore."

"Cool!" She said, big fish was _good_ right?

"Yeah cool…" He mumbled.

"Do you not want to go?" She asked him.

He glanced up in surprise, "no, I really do! I- I like Lanna and I like fishing so…" He trailed off and refocused his attention on the horizon.

"Its nothing, really." He said then began to mumble to himself. "Nothing, nothing, nothing…"

She watched him in confusion. Did he need something like her pills? Post-traumatic stress? Or maybe he was just insane. That would be fine, she knew a lot of crazy people. They were fun to be around. Until they really did snap that was.

"Actually." He said suddenly perking up, "Maybe you could help!"

"Me?" She asked skeptically.

"Yeah, 'cause you helped Natalie, Elliot and Julia with their garbage." He grinned.

"Right." She said slowly, carefully deciding between getting out then and finding out what his deal was. Curiosity won out and she stayed still.

"You see," He started suddenly embarrassed. "I'm- I,uh…"

"Out with it!" She said jokingly. Except she wasn't joking. She was getting ticked off by his doddleing.

"I'M SCARED OF BOATS!"

"…" She said nothing.

"….." He spoke no further either.

The farmer stood up and looked out into the sea.

"WHHHAAATTTT?!"

He panicked and pulled her back down putting a hand over her mouth. "shush!" He said.

She calmed down and he let go.

"How did this happen?" She asked, "I mean, you're a fisherman!"

"I know, I know!" He said in annoyance, more at himself than at her. He glance down and fingered his shark tooth necklace. "Did I ever tell you the story of how I got this?" He asked.

"Yes." She said in exasperation, "You've told everyone. Several times." She added.

"Well, I may have made up some parts of that shark fight…" He admitted.

She totally called it. It wasn't possible to beat a shark in the ocean. She might have once fought a crocodile in a river in Vietnam but that was a completely different story.

"No way, really?" She said in surprise.

"Yeah." He said in shame. "Here's what actually happened."

_The boy was only ten years old when his dad took him to the open waters to fish. He had grown up in the islands and had never left before. In his excitement, he forgot to be careful. He stood up suddenly just when a large wave had hit knocking him overboard._

_The man quickly ran to the starboard side of the small fishing boat. "Daniel!" He shouted._

_The boy's head quickly resurfaced and he bobbed on the surface of the ocean awkwardly in his orange life jacket. He scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. The man sighed in relief and then panicked. The boy turned to see a grey fin protruding from the surface of the water, slowly make its way over. The water was unfairly clear with it being the tropics, he could now see the entire shark, a large grey mass, he panicked flailing wildly._

"_No!" Called the man, "Swim over!"_

_He started to but wasn't making enough progress. "Dad!" He called. His father jumped into the water and grabbed the boy and began paddling back. The man cried out in pain and the boy turned to see that the shark had a firm grip on his shoulder. With all of his strength the boy punched the shark and it let go. Once they were both on deck he examined his father's shoulder._

"_Its nothing, really." Said the man. It wasn't nothing. He could never move his left arm the same way again._

"What about the shark tooth?" Asked Chelsea.

"This was lodged into his arm. He gave it to me as a thanks for getting the shark off." He said.

"I see." She said, "One more question."

"What?" He asked.

"How the heck did you get to this island without a boat?" She asked skeptically.

"I swam." He said.

"No really." She raised her eyebrows.

"Really, I swam." He repeated.

"Wow, you'd think that you would be afraid of swimming in the ocean not boats." She said.

"You'd think," he agreed, "but no."

"Okay." She said. "I know what to do."

"Really?" He asked.

"Yup, we'll get you over your fear of sailing the same way I got over my fear of dead bodies and blood…. Immerse yourself in it!" She froze and he laughed and she joined in, albeit a little nervously. Then she patted his shoulder while getting back up, "he,he,he… you think I'm kidding." Then she walked off.

"Meet me here in an hour!" She called over her shoulder.


	10. Fear

**Alrighty, alrighty! Next Chapter! Thanks for the comments and the views and favorites etc. I love you people. You are beautiful, beautiful people**

**annnd I just totally weirded you out.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Harvest Moon.**

* * *

"Chelsea…" He said doubtfully. The fisherman and farmer were staring at the makeshift boat she rustled up bobbing in the water. She beamed proudly.

"I don't think this will support my weight…" He said.

"Tough!" She grinned, "You can swim."

He sighed.

"What's all this about?" Asked a voice.

"Julia!" Chelsea screeched and flung herself at the girl. "Oh, and hey Vaughn." She said to the man beside her. "We made a boat."

"Ah I see…" Said Julia worriedly.

"That's a boat?" Scoffed Vaughn.

The 'boat' was a small raft made up of several logs mashed and nailed together. The rusty nails jutted out from the wood precariously. Denny gulped.

Chelsea turned to him in exasperation. "Well if it wasn't scary what would be the point?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Julia.

"Denny's scared of boats." Beamed Chelsea.

Vaughn snorted and Julia put her hand to her mouth to suppress a laugh.

Denny flailed his arms in embarrassment, "It's not funny!"

"Um, *hrm*, yeah sorry Denny, I know it must be *hrm* hard-" At this point Julia lost it a began to giggle.

Chelsea patted her back supportively, "you held it in best you could." She told her. Turning to Denny she smiled coldly. "Now get on the boat."

"Wh- now? I was thinking we could rest for a little, maybe have some tea, scones, you guys like scones right? Then maybe-"

Chelsea cut him off, picked the sorry fisherman up and plopped him of the boat.

"Wah! Let's not be too hasty now! Wow Chelsea you're strong, have you been working out or something? Oh right you're a farm-" She grinned sadistically and kicked the side of the "boat" so that it flew away from the shore.

"GAHHHHHHHH!" He screeched. "I'm starting to believe that joke you said about blood and dead bodies!" He called out.

Julia and Vaughn looked at her questioningly. She shrugged as if to say, _I don't know, he's crazy._

The waves were building up and the raft bobbed like crazy. Denny spluttered mouthfuls of water. Suddenly a larger wave crashed and the whole boat fell apart and the fisherman sank below the waves. His head popped back up and he began to splash about. "Help! Help!"

Then he froze in realization.

"What's he doing?" Asked Julia.

"I think he just remembered he can swim." Chelsea said.

Vaughn rubbed his temple, he was surrounded by idiots.

Denny swam back to shore and shock himself dry like a dog. The surrounding party objected as they got soaked. "That." He said.

"That?" The two girls said in unison.

"That wasn't bad at all!" He grinned. "I didn't die or anything! I don't think I'm scared of boats anymore!"

"Good." Said Chelsea.

He wheeled on her. "You however!" He said pointing at her accusingly, "You terrify me!"

"Yeah a lot of people say that about me." She smiled.

"Wah!" Yelled Julia suddenly.

"What?!" They all said suddenly.

"I just had a brilliant thought!" She said.

"OH MY GOSH!" Exclaimed Chelsea, "Someone alert the media!"

Vaughn snorted and Julia wacked them both.

"We should all watch a horror movie tonight!" She said.

"What's a horror movie?" Asked Chelsea genuinely.

Julia turned to her in shock before grinning evilly "Oh, you'll see. Prepare to wet yourself!"

That night all of the youth on the island, minus the children, gathered at the ranch.

"Thank you all for coming out to our first annual horror movie night!" Called Julia to the assembled living room.

"You're going to make this every year?" Groaned Vaughn.

"Ohhhh, is that what annual means?" Asked Julia. The room did a collective face palm. "Anyway, here's a scary one about a bunch of teens who find themselves on an abandoned farm only to be hunted down by, _something."_ She turned to Chelsea and grinned, "I chose this on special for Chelsea since it's her first horror film."

"You shouldn't have." Said the farmer dryly.

The movie turned on and Vaughn did his best to tune out the people around him. He couldn't believe the stuff his cousin made him do. He didn't really like horror movies, he found their plots to shallow and the gore distasteful. Half way through he began to glance around the room. Despite her brave front earlier, Julia was clinging to Elliot. Though he couldn't tell who was more afraid His cousin or the boy.

Denny was calm, maybe because it didn't take place on a boat? He mentally scoffed again at the fisherman's ridiculous fear. Natalie, looked fine but was gripping her clothes a little too tightly and flinched as the chain saw wielding scare crow jumped out.

Lastly he fixed his attention from the corner of his eye unto Chelsea who was sitting close beside him. Too close beside him in his opinion. Her eyes were transfixed to the screen. She seemed for the most part unfazed but the slight "Hrph"s she made at each of the jump scares and blood betrayed that she was….scared? He felt bad for the girl, she'd later have to return to her farm all by herself and spend the night alone on the giant property. He wouldn't be surprised if she was scared even before this film.

She began to shake and her lips quivered. Then finally, when the Farmer-zombie came out and decapitated the boy with a scythe she blew. She didn't scream like he thought she would. She began to laugh hysterically. Julia paused the movie and everybody looked at her questioningly.

"I think we broke her." Said Natalie.

She laughed harder and clutched her sides. She even fell off the couch. She tried to catch her breath. "Did you see that?!" She asked. "Priceless!"

"Chelsea dear, are you alright?" Asked Julia.

"Of course! This show is hilarious! Did you see the way the blood squirted?" She grinned.

Elliot looked like he was about to faint at "Squirted."

"It was so fake, there wasn't even enough blood! Plus, if you want to decapitate, you don't hold the scythe like that! It should have never made a clean cut and-" She stopped when she noticed the weird looks and sighed, "Continue."

They resumed the movie. Finally, twenty minutes later the remaining teenager exorcised the famer-zombie and the movie ended.

"That." Said Julia. "Was a lot scarier than I expected… and I forget I also live on a ranch."

_Her own fault. _I thought.

"Elliot." She said batting her eyes. "Would you mind staying over?"

"N-not at all!" He said. "I think I want to stay as far away as possible from Natalie tonight"

The entire room nodded in sympathy. Natalie scoffed, but then grinned sinisterly, "aww but I had something awesome planned!"

"That's what I was scared of…" He sighed.

The people tricked out leaving only Vaughn, Julia, Elliot and Chelsea.

Julia looked at Chelsea guiltily. "I'm so sorry Chelsea."

"What?" Asked the farmer cluelessy.

"That was really scary, and I forget you live alone, ON A FARM of all things…" Julia frowned.

"It was nothing really, I've seen worse." Said Chelsea reassuringly.

"… but you said you've never seen horror movies before." Said Julia.

"…." Chelsea didn't respond.

Mirabelle walked in looking crossed, "I couldn't help but overhear, Julia how could you be so inconsiderate of your friend!"

Julia looked down at her feet ashamed.

Mirabelle clasped Chelsea's hands warmly, "Chelsea, you're welcome to stay if you would like."

"I-It's alright!" She said. She was blushing, not used to the motherly touch Mirabelle had. "Plus, you're full up."

"That's right…" She said thoughtfully. "Vaughn, could you spend the night at Chelsea's."

"WHAT?!" They both exclaimed. "NO!" Both turned to the other in surprise.

"Why does it have to be me?" Growled Vaughn.

"I'm an adult! An adult!" Protested Chelsea, "I don't need to be baby sat."

"Just go!" said Julia pushing the two out the door and locking it behind them.

They glanced at each other in defeat. "I could sleep in the barn?" She suggested.

He blinked in surprise, "but it's your house!" Was he really more scary to her than the barn that was eerily similar to the barn in the movie?

"Fine." She said.

They made it to the farmhouse and she unlocked the door. Neither made any move to step in.

She sighed, "I really hate Julia sometimes."

"Tell me about it" He agreed. "Chelsea…" He said tentitivly, "It's alright if you're scared you know."

She laughed and walked into the house. "Why would I be scared? It's not like that was a true story! Plus it was those teens fault. _They_ disturbed the grave then _they_ did nothing to defend themselves!" She grimaced, "but I can't believe they won at the end, what a disappointment."

"Yes were rooting for the scythe-wielding zombie?" He asked skeptically.

"Gotta root for the home team!" She grinned.

"Because you're both farmers?" He asked.

"Right and that too." She said before walking over to her bathroom. He was left to ponder over her last sentence.

She emerged wearing a baggy black t-shirt and shorts. He gawked. "What?" She asked.

"You're not wearing your bandanna." He stated returning his face to neutral.

"I don't sleep with it on!" She laughed, "Here! Take your hat off too!" She said grabbing his hat. He protested and reached to stop her but she was too quick. She froze. Then a little flustered she put it back on. "Sorry." She said. "…. The bathroom's available." He nodded and stalked off.

She hopped onto the bed and sat with her back against the wall. Her heart was hammering, it was a weird sensation. She had never seen such amethyst eyes, and the way his bangs framed his face…

He came out a minute later having only removed his vest and boots. Crashing on the couch he glanced at the farmer.

"Goodnight." He mumbled settling himself down unto the couch.

"…..Night." She mumbled.

She turned off the light and lay down in her bed.

"Chelsea." He groaned after a minute, "Do you have to sleep facing me? This is already awkward enough as it is"

"…. I don't like sleeping around other people." She said.

"But if you turn around it'll be like I'm not here." He said.

"You never know who will stab you in the back while you're not looking, friend, stranger, _family._" She said.

He sighed and, in annoyance, slipped his hat over his eyes to block her out.

That night he woke up to weird noises. Chelsea was thrashing in her bed.

A nightmare. _Of course._ Of course she had to be having a nightmare. Wait, this was why he was here right? He groaned and turned on the light. He walked over to her bed. Her face was wrinkled in a frown and she let out a small squeak.

"Chelsea." He said. She continued to toss and turn. "Chelsea!"

She cried as if in physical pain and gripped her stomach and chest with both hands. "It hurts! It hurts!" She cried. "Whywhywhywhywhwhywhy!"

He was freaked out now. This might not be a nightmare but a medical emergency!

He grabbed her shoulder and she jolted up and grabbed his arm in a death grip. Her deep blue eyes were blank, large and empty, just like Ruth's. "Who are you?" She said in a cold voice.

"Vaughn." He said.

She blinked in surprise and her eyes returned to normal, "Oh right!" She noticed the grip she hand on his hand and quickly let go. "Sorry!" She said.

"Nightmare?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said her hands were still shaking. She glanced at her cabinet wistfully but returned her focus on Vaughn.

"Chelsea?" He asked worriedly.

"Chelsea?" She said as if the name was foreign to her. "Chelsea." She said again in a more definite voice.

She got up and pulled a small container of pills out of her cabinet and pooped one in her mouth before coming back and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Headache." She said a little too fast.

"So your dream…" He trailed off not really wanting to talk.

"It was about erm, the movie. Zombie farmers and such." She didn't give him many details which he was thankful for, he really just wanted to sleep.

He snapped at her, "You shouldn't have watched that movie!"

"Yeah." She said quietly as he made his way back to the couch. As he lay down, she thought again about the dream.

She wasn't exactly lying when she said it was about zombie farmers, except this time she was the zombie farmer and each of the people on the island became her victims. Each night her dreams began to stray more and more from the original memories they were based on, replacing total strangers with familiar faces.

_Eventually her brother appeared in the dream and slashed her across the chest with a knife. She clasped her wound, relieving the pain she had felt that day, five years ago._

_Just like that life changing day, the zombie farmer looked up at the blond man towering over her as she lay on the blood soaked ground. _

_"Why?" She asked him._

_He did not answer, but there was no remorse in his cold eyes._

She shook her head slightly and decided not to go back to sleep. She would surely wake Vaughn again and there'd be hell to pay. She stepped out of the home, closing the door slowly behind her. She climbed her way to the roof with an acrobat's grace and watched the stars until the sun rose.

That's where Vaughn found her the next morning. "Chelsea! Get down from there!" He called.

She turned to him in surprise. "Hi!" She said cheerfully and jumped down. He flinched but she landed on her feet.

"Next time get down the normal way." He muttered before stalking off. She watched him go with a yawn and then turned to begin her farm work.


	11. Enter Bespectacled Princess

**I'm Back already before anyone reading this story completely loses interest. **

**I do not own Harvest Moon**

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The bell on the door chimed as Vaughn walked into the store. Julia turned to him in surprise, and, seeing who it was she grinned smugly. "How was it last night? Vaughny~?"

Vaughn glared and Elliot, who was sitting next to Julia, sunk into his chair. It was obvious that between the two was the last place he wanted to be.

"Awful." He said. "You gave the girl some killer nightmares. I thought she was dying." He didn't sleep well at all. He had noticed shortly after when he woke up a second time that Chelsea had disappeared. She must have only slept an hour last night, unless she really did go to sleep in the barn. He shook his head. No, she wouldn't have. If she really was having nightmares about the movie, she'd stay clear of the barn. This meant that she must have been up on the roof all night.

He did not want to cross paths with her today. Especially if she was anything like Julia,he shuddered at the memories of a sleep-deprived Julia.

"Goooood morning, you beautiful people!" Chelsea greeted in a sing-song voice as she entered the shop. Vaughn glanced up in surprise before returning to his work. Unfortunitly, he could not tune out their voices, try as he might.

"Chelsea!" Called Julia. "What a surprise! Didn't you just buy feed a day ago?"

"Yep!" She replied, "but I'm showing a new villager 'round the town."

There was silence. "Well where are they?" Asked Julia.

"Wah!" Cried Chelsea in surprise, Vaughn glanced back up.

"She was just with me a second ago!" She slapped her face in annoyance and stepped out of the shop before returning, dragging a girl by the arm. Behind her glasses, the girl's eyes were wide in shock and fear.

"This is Sabrina, she's a shy one I tell ya'!" Chelsea grinned "Honestly, she does this at every stop!"

Vaughn could feel his heart go out in pity to this poor mistreated girl. If he was as shy as her, the last thing he'd want was to become Chelsea's new play toy. The girl stepped forward a little bit and held her hand to her chest.

"I-I'm Sabrina, It's a pleasure to meet you." She said with a small bow.

"Woah! She's so polite!" Exclaimed Julia, "Like a lady!"

"She is a lady!" Said Chelsea, "I met her this morning when I was scavenging in the east part of the island. Imagine my surprise when there was this huge mansion there erected almost overnight!"

"Wow! I need to check that out sometime!" Said Julia. She turned to Sabrina, "I'm Julia, I help my mom at this ranch."

"Pleasure." Said the girl.

"This is Vaughn, my cousin and the animal dealer." She said gesturing to the cowboy.

Vaughn looked her in the eye and she turned pink like her dress. Chelsea giggled to herself, Sabrina was really timid she must have been terrified by Vaughn's glare. Then her eyes widened, _he wasn't glaring_.

"Nice to meet you." He said. The girl turned even pinker and Chelsea realized that if she didn't get her out of there, Sabrina might faint. As it turned out, Sabrina must of known that too because she quickly thanked Chelsea for the tour and then excused herself.

As she left, both girls wheeled on Vaughn.

"What was that?!" Exclaimed Julia.

"What was what?" Growled Vaughn.

"You were, dare I say it, _pleasant_!" Chelsea said as if she were still trying to take it all in.

"No I wasn't." Said Vaughn in annoyance.

"Yes you were!" Both girls said in unison.

"I just thought that she looked a lot like a spooked animal." He admitted.

Julia gasped, "You like her!"

Vaughn scoffed, "Why would you think that?"

"Because you love animals and she reminded you of one!" Grinned Julia.

"You're taking what I said completely out of context!" Yelled Vaughn.

Julia flipped her hair, "You saw it to, right Chelsea?"

Silence. "Chelsea?" She said again unsure. The truth was Chelsea had left half way through their argument. She didn't feel like hearing it for some reason and she suddenly thought of several more productive things that she could do. Like go to the mines. Yes she'd go to the mines and take whatever these nasty emotions were out on the rocks.

Unfortunately, that wasn't what the world had in mind. The mountain was a bustle of activity. Up ahead there were several miners looking over blueprints and eating their lunches. She tried to walk into the mine but one stopped her. "Woah, woah, woah!" He said. Where do you think you're going?"

Chelsea was annoyed, she had half a mind to grab the man's outstretched arm and flip him. She really needed more sleep, she just felt like fighting everyone today.

She smiled brightly. "Just going to the mines!"

The men all laughed and she clenched her fists, still grinning like an idiot.

"A little thing like you?" He said. "You'll hurt yourself hunny."

Another man with a more business-like demour came around. "More importantly than that, this mine now belongs to the Regis mining company. Outsiders can't use it."

"Unfair!" she exclaimed, "They only moved in today! I've been using these mines weeks before!"

"Sorry," said the man, "but he owns the deed to the mine, this is private property."

"Fine." She said in anger, "I guess I'll just talk to him."

The men laughed, "You do that." Said the first man. "Just don't cry when the vampire turns you down."

She stalked out. Marching straight to the mansion she knocked on the door.

The door opened a fraction and a meek voice answered from the other side. "Hello?"

Great. Sabrina. She didn't feel like talking to Sabrina, though she couldn't think of why.

"Hey, It's Chelsea!" She said.

The door opened fully. "Hello Chelsea." Sabrina said.

"Is your dad home?" She asked.

"No, he's out at a meeting in the city." She said, "Is something the matter."

"I can't use the mines." The farmer whined.

"I'm very sorry." Said Sabrina with an apologetic dip of the head, "I cannot help you with that. You will have to wait for him to return."

"Alright." She Chelsea. "Later."

She left the mansion and paced around the island in annoyance. When he returned, she was going to give him a piece of her mind.


	12. Fireworks?

**Alright, another short Ruth Vaughn chapter. Sorry to anyone who just wants to read about Vaughn and Chelsea. I debated a lot about putting an OC in this story. Often, I change my story ideas around to what I think would be the most reader friendly but the truth was, I just really, really wanted the character in the story so I put her in. I promise this is the last chapter that is just Vaughn and Ruth. So the question is, what do you guys think of Ruth?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon**

* * *

Vaughn had finally returned to the city the Friday afternoon. He immediately returned to his apartment. He sighed in relief as he inspected the rooms, nothing was gone or out of place. His trust was rightfully placed in this girl. He stood around awkwardly, not really sure what he should do. He felt like he should inform the girl that he returned but she was out. Probably looking for that woman still.

He had always known that the effort was probably hopeless, but it was only at this moment that he realized what that meant. He had never put a time cap onto how long she could stay. Did he unknowingly invite this girl to live with him? He wasn't ready to be responsible for such a young child. How old was she anyway? Was she supposed to be in school?

He imagined going out and buying her school supplies with all of the parents and shook his head in defiance. He had to do something about this. She usually came home at around five. No, not home, this wasn't her home. She usually _came over_ at five.

He checked his watch and could see that it was only three. Growling in annoyance he decided to go for a walk to clear his head. He walked through the streets with his hands shoved in his pockets. The after-work rush had not yet engulfed the city in total chaos. God he hated the city, for what reason would every office job end at the same time, it was ridiculous!

He found himself walking through the park. He recognized this place, his mother had taken him here as a kid. He shoved that thought aside. He didn't need to think about her now.

"Have you seen a lady with brown hair and blue eyes?" Asked a voice.

He turned in the direction and saw the snowy headed girl confronting a couple with a baby carriage. They shook their heads and moved on. He scowled, _they were parents_! Why were they not concerned that a little girl was all alone and asking for help. He knew that if any of the folks from Sunshine island was here that they would immediately reach out to the girl. He couldn't tell if it was that they were unusually friendly or if city goers were just really cold.

She noticed the cow boy and smiled slightly, not one that reached her eyes but enough of a reaction to stir his heart. He shook the feeling out, he was not a woman, he shouldn't be feeling maternal over a child that wasn't his own.

"What's up?' He asked.

"No one's seen her…" said the girl disappointedly.

"it's because you aren't giving a good enough description." He said. They began to walk again. "What does she look like? Recall every detail."

"Brown hair, blue eyes." She said.

"More detail, what else?" He asked.

"Her eyes are often like mine, People say they're cold." She said. He nodded to continue, "She's kind of small for an adult. She's around twenty but looks a little childish."

His lip twitched into an almost smile, that was just like Chelsea.

"She has a big scar on her stomach that stretches across her chest." The girl continued. "and has a tattoo on her right-lower waist."

He frowned, suddenly this person was starting to look more like a delinquent in his eyes.

"What's her personality like?" He asked the girl.

"Depends."

"Depends?"

"Whether she likes you are not."

This woman was starting to sound like a mafia boss. He wondered if it was for the best that Ruth not find this woman. All these new details along with the name change could only mean that this woman was trouble. It would explain the girl's fear of the cops as well.

They walked past an ice cream truck, "what's that?" Asked the girl.

"Ice cream." He said.

"Cream that's frozen?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's food." He said. At 'food' her eyes shone over. He sighed.

They sat at a park bench and the girl licked her ice-cream. A ghost of a smile crossed her lips.

"Who is this woman to you?" He finally asked.

"My captain." She said.

"Captain?"

"Yes." She confirmed.

He wanted to ask more but his phone rang.

"One second." He said. The girl nodded and continued to lick her treat.

He returned moments later. "I'm going to be gone an extra day this week." He said.

"Why?" Asked the girl.

"There's a fireworks festival on Sunshine islands and my family is making me stay." He grunted.

"Fireworks?" Asked the girl interestedly.

"You've never seen fireworks?" He asked in surprise.

She shook her head. "What are they?"

"Explosions of fire." He said.

"Like bombs. I've seen those." She told him. "What do they blow up?"

"No, they are quite bombs, and they explode in the sky so they don't break anything."

"like a flare gun?" She asked.

He was getting a little uncomfortable with her questions, so she knew what a flare gun was, and had seen bombs explode but not fireworks? Realization hit him. She must be a refugee from a poor war stricken country in the middle east. That would also explain her tan skin and empty eyes. He unconsciously put a hand on her head and patted her hair.

"Kind of but they have all sorts of colours and the explosions are made to be admired." He said. "They're… pretty."

"Pretty…" She repeated quietly.

"Would you…" he started, a little unsure, "Like to come watch them?"

Her eyes widened, "I… can come? You'd take me?"

"I guess." He said gruffly, "Just don't get in the way of my work."

She nodded almost excitedly.


	13. Welcome to Sunshine Island!

**Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing ~! Please continue to give feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon.**

* * *

"BIG NEWS!" Said Julia running into her kitchen where Natalie and Chelsea had already assembled.

"What?" Asked Natalie rubbing her ears in annoyance.

"Vaughn's bringing a girl home for the fireworks festival!" She shouted.

"EHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Said Natalie and Chelsea in equal shock.

"I KNOW RIGHT!" She exclaimed.

"Who is this girl?" Asked Natalie.

"Someone he met in the city!" Julia told them.

All three of their imaginations ran wild.

Julia looked up and the ceiling.

_The sound of traffic could only be heard faintly in the distance. Glasses chinked as the two sat gazing into each other's eyes at the small candle lit table in his apartment. The woman wore a classy red dress with dark hair cascading down her shoulders. Her hair fell over her left eye and Vaughn leaned over to tuck it behind her ear. Her lightly painted lips parted sightly as they called out his name softly. "Vaughn."_

Julia's face turned red and she collapsed onto the table. "When did this happen to my cute little socially-awkward cousin? THE CITY'S CORRUPTED HIM!

Natalie stroked her hair thoughtfully.

_Police sirens echoed and Vaughn walked through the streets with his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather coat. He entered the bar on a street with a fancy city name like "Queen's street" and sat on the round stool not noticing the woman he sat next to. "Why hello there cowboy. She said. He turned around to face her. She sat leaning against the bar in a short black miniskirt and low cut top. She put a hand through her blond-dyed hair as the barkeep placed down her drink. She took a swift gulp and he gave a slight smirk, slightly impressed. "What's a pretty girl like you doing alone in a place like this?" He asked her in a deep voice. "Waiting for friends." She said. "How 'bout coming to my place instead?" He asked seductively. She pulled out a package of cigarettes and lit one. She blew the smoke thoughtfully and then slid off the stool giving him a sly look. He got up as well and wrapped his arm around her waist, "Let's go."_

She burst out laughing, "Yeah right! As if that would happen! He's such a dull guy."

Lastly Chelsea put her hand to her chin and tried to pull up everything she remembered from her five minutes in the city.

_Vaughn walked into the convenience store, walking past the bulletin board with the advertisement of Forget-me-not valley. He glanced at the shelves before picking up one of the gum packages at the front counter. He placed it unto the desk and the girl behind the desk smiled warmly. "That will be ninety-nine cents!" He gave her a dollar and she handed him back a penny. As she handed it back, their hands touched and she looked up, "I'm very sorry!" She apologized. He was taken in by her bright eyes and smiled. "You're kind of cute, would you like to come to a rural island in the middle of nowhere and watch fireworks with me?" The girl blushed and threw herself across the counter and into his arms. "Yes please! I've always wanted you to ask me that since that day you came in and bought that carton of milk! I love a man who drinks milk, it's a great source of calcium!"_

The glass in her hand broke. She smiled but a demonic aura overtook her, "Don't get ahead of yourself part timer!"

"We're…. probably overreacting…." She Julia and the girls nodded.

"Still," said Natalie, "I wonder what she's like…."

"We'll find out tomorrow." Said Julia.

Chelsea frowned, she wasn't sure why but she really did not want to meet this girl. She shook her head wondering how she could dislike someone she hasn't met. Maybe she should just keep herself busy these next two days. Then she wouldn't have to worry about it.

* * *

The girl sat on the boat watching the sea with wonder.

"You've never been on a boat before?" Vaughn asked.

The girl shook her head, "I have."

He stood around for a second before giving up on conversation and retreating back to below desk to examine the livestock. Originally she had tried to help but the animals seemed to have the same violent reaction against her as they did with Chelsea. It wasn't long before he had banished her to the deck.

It was a little nippy that morning considering it was summer, but it was probably just the sea breeze. Ruth would be able to handle it, they were almost at shore. He came up again as they approached the island. Ruth retreated from the edge of the ship as the island came into view.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm nervous." She said. He glanced at her from under his hat in surprise. He couldn't imagine anything fazing this girl and yet…

"Why?" He asked attempting to keep his usual tone of disinterest.

"You're family…. What are they like?" She asked suddenly.

"They're good people." He said.

"Are your parents on the island?" She asked.

He stiffened. "No."

"Where are they?" She asked.

"Dead." He answered coldly.

"Oh," She said, as if he were telling her the weather forecast.

"The lady I'm looking for's parents are dead to." She told him.

"And your's?" He asked.

'"Dunno, not sure I ever had any." She said. "So who's on the island if they're not your parents?"

"My aunt and cousin." He said.

"Ant like the bug?" She asked in moderate surprise.

"No, my mother's sister and my cousin is her daughter." He said.

She looked like she wanted to ask more but they had arrived and he headed back down to get the animals. He brought them off the boat and Julia sprung on him.

"Vaughn!" She said urgently, "Is it true? Did you really bring the girl from the city?" She glanced around swiftly. "Where is she?"

He sighed, "She's probably still on the boat."

"WELL DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING! GO GET HER!" She yelled in impatience. He rolled his eyes and started to walk back up the boat's stairs. "Eeee," She sqeeled, "I'm so excited, and happy for you!"

His brow creased in confusion and then annoyance because he really didn't like being confused. He found Ruth standing at the center of the deck and pulled her along. "Come." He said. She nodded.

As they got off the boat Julia's expression went from shock to confusion. Vaughn." She said evenly. "Are you a… lolicon?"

"WHAT?!" He roared.

"She's so young! Who knew my cousin had such a disgusting fetish!" She cried.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" He yelled.

After some painful explanation Julia nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. So you're like her daddy?"

He glared at her in annoyance. "I am NOT her dad." He said. Ruth tugged on his sleeve. He glanced at her as if he had forgotten she was there. "Do you want to… introduce yourself." He asked. Ruth nodded and turned to Julia.

"I'm Ruth. Nice to meet you." She said quietly.

Julia squealed and Ruth stepped back in confusion. She turned to Vaughnin confusion. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked.

He shook his head, "My cousin's just weird."

"I'm Julia!" she said bending down to Ruth's level and enveloping her in a hug. "Gaahhhhhh! She's just so cute!" She sent Vaughn the puppydog eyes. "Can I keep her?"

"Absolutely not." He said in annoyance. "You'll corrupt her."

She stuck out her tounge. "Vaughney's a meanie!"

They all sat at the table at Mirabelle's shop. Mirabelle clapped her hands in delight. "Vaughn you really have grown up to be a caring boy!" She placed her hand on Ruth's shoulder, "I'm so proud you've gone out and helped this poor girl."

Ruth had stared at Mirabelle in wonder since they had arrived and she was now staring at her hand with an incomprehensible expression.

Mirabelle's hand withdrew, "Is something the matter dear?"

"…." Ruth had stayed quiet.

"Ruth?" Asked Julia.

"You are a mother?" She said to Mirabelle. "Vaughn said that you were Julia's mother."

"Yes that's right." She said.

Ruth's eye's shone. "I've never… met a mother before…" The girl was entranced by the concept of mother and father. Everyone in the deadman army all said that they used to have them. She had watched for five years as people came and wept for their "mommys" in their sleep. The older ones shook in horror as they began to forget their faces at urgently would mutter their most important memories to themselves as if drilling moments before a test. She never understood.

Mirabelle glanced at Vaughn awkwardly and held her hands together, "is that… so?"

"Julia," She said suddenly, "Why don't you show the girl around?"

"I can do that." Said Vaughn in annoyance.

"No you can't!" Julia laughed, "You hardly know any of the islanders yourself."

He scowled before realizing that he really didn't want to introduce the girl to all these people anyway. "Fine." He grunted and stepped out back to the barn.

Julia grabbed Ruth by the arm and led her around proudly. First to Taro's house where she showed her to the old man and the rest of her boyfriend's family. The old man eyed the girl carefully before nodding in approval. "This one could make a fine farmer in the future!"

The rest of the family groaned, that was truly all the old man cared about. Natalie laughed, "So the girl Vaughn brought was an actual _girl_, girl! Didn't see that coming!"

Next she took her to the various shops. Then to the beach where she met the pop star and fisherman. Lanna squealed, "She's so cute! Let me dress her up sometime!" Denny grinned at the girl and the bird on his shoulder squawked "hello!"

Everyone jumped back in surprise, other that the fisherman of course. "HE CAN TALK?!"

"Of course!" Laughed Denny.

The bird chirped up again, "Denny loves Lanna! Denny loves Lanna!"

The fisherman blushed and grabbed the bird's beak. "Kuu!" He exclaimed.

Julia laughed and dragged Ruth around once again. Eventually they returned to the ranch. Julia plopped down on the couch. "Man, that was tiring!" Ruth nodded and tentatively sat down as well.

"It's too bad we didn't find everybody, I wanted you to meet Chelsea as well!" Whined the girl, "but we didn't see her!"

"Who's Chelsea?" Asked Ruth.

"She's the island's farmer and one of my best friends!" Said Julia.

"Wouldn't she be on the farm then?" Asked Ruth.

"You'd think!" Said Julia exasperatedly, "but she's always ALL over island, you can never predict where she'll be."

Vaughn walked in and sat next to Ruth having finished his work. He nodded "weird girl."

Ruth could of sworn she saw the ghost of a smile hit his lips as he said this.

* * *

Today Chelsea was at Regis' waiting awkwardly in the waiting room. Sabrina poured her a cup of tea and she thanked the girl. "Father will be will you shortly." Sabrina told her. Chelsea nodded and they stayed like that awkwardly. Finally Sabrina spoke up again. "D-did you see the girl Vaughn brought yet? She's c-cute."

"Is that so?" Said Chelsea. She didn't want to talk about the girl.

Regis entered the room, "Hello Chelsea, how may I help you today?"

"Your workers won't let me enter the mine." She told him.

"Of course, that mine is my property after all." He said. Chelsea smiled. She reaaallyyy wanted to snap him in half. It didn't look like it would be hard, he was so stiff and skinny.

"Is there any way you'd let me continue using it?" She asked.

"Of course not! You are a young flower like my dear Sabrina. Flowers die in dark dusty caves!" He said, horrified by her request.

"I assure you." Said Chelsea, "I am very sturdy. I am the island's farmer after all. Plus all those gems and ores previously shipped from this island was mined by me."

"Hmm, those were amazing quality ores…" He said thoughtfully.

"Very well." He said and Chelsea grinned, "BUT," He added, "I want you to become friends with Sabrina."

"Deal." Said Chelsea automatically.

"Father!" Protested Sabrina.

"Now I'm busy." Said Regis. "Why don't you two run along and play nice."

Chelsea smiled and grabbed Sabrina's hand. "Thank you very much!" She grinned and dragged the girl out on the enormous house.

"Where do you want to go?" Asked Chelsea.

"Anywhere you would like to go." Said Sabrina.

Just then Vaughn, Julia and Ruth rounded the corner.

Both girls stopped as they made eye contact.

* * *

**Well what will be their responses? Tune in later to see.**


	14. Chance Encounter

**I'M BACK ONCE AGAIN! MWAHAHAHAA! You have no idea how many time I rewrote this over and over again. At first their reactions were going to be like "Hey." "Hey." "When did you get here?" and then I thought that that might not be fair since I built it up and all. I also wanted to show the Chelsea Ruth background story without it being to long. I kept changing how they met. Hopefully this works and now I can finally move on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own harvest moon**

* * *

A wind blew through the group and then all was silent. Ruth stared at Chelsea in surprise, and Chelsea stared back. Seconds passed by and Julia and Vaughn exchanged looks. Sabrina stood behind the farmer awkwardly.

"Ch-Chelsea?" She asked in quiet concern.

Chelsea did not respond to her, instead she said in silent disbelief, "Lieutenant?"

Ruth's frozen expression thawed to bliss, "Captain!"

The farmer smiled softly, "I was waiting for you."

"And I was looking." Said Ruth.

"You two…. know each other?" Asked Julia.

Ruth turned to them and smiled, "This is the person I've been looking for!"

Vaughn's heart tugged, the girl had transformed in front of his very eyes. In that whole time he had known her, she had never smiled like that. He couldn't help but feel that he had lost to Chelsea. He shook it off fast, and lowered his stenson over his face to hide a small smile.

Chelsea walked over and ruffled the girl's hair lightly, "Were… you lonely?"

The girls face saddened a little, "Yeah."

Julia squealed interrupting the moment, "Its like a soap opera!"

Vaughn clenched his fist, his cousin really couldn't read the mood. Sabrina walked forward and clasped Julia's wrist lightly, "Let's give them time." She said and led her away. Vaughn nodded to her gratefully and she blushed in passing.

"I don't wanna!" Cried Julia but she let herself be dragged away by the weak girl anyway.

Chelsea looked at Vaughn. "Thank you. For taking care of her."

He stepped back in surprise, the look on her face was so unlike her usual goofy smiles. Her eyes were serine. Ruth wasn't the only one who was transformed in this encounter. His face heated up but he was so caught off guard that he forgot to lower his stenson.

Ruth looked up at him, "Hey Vaughn, are you okay? Your face is pink, are you mad about something?"

He quickly regained his composure, "I'm fine." He said quickly.

"Let's go to my house." Said Chelsea, "there's a lot to discuss." Vaughn nodded.

They sat awkwardly across Chelsea's wooden dining table. No one knew how to start this conversation. It was not like things like this happened often.

"How did you two meet?" Asked Chelsea tentatively.

"She was in trouble with a gang so I helped her out. She had nowhere to go so…" He cleared his throat, "How about you two?"

They looked at each other awkwardly. "Er, same as you I guess." Said Chelsea. "I saw a little girl who was all alone and couldn't turn my back_." _

Vaughn frowned, he knew they were hiding something. Chelsea was completely different from what Ruth described her.

"So." Said Chelsea, "how are the people back at, er, home?"

"There are a lot of new people." Said Ruth. "I don't like them. They cry too much."

Chelsea nodded, "and the old?"

"Your brother's still alive if that's what you're asking." She said.

"Cheh," Chelsea kissed her teeth in annoyance, "Someone just kill him already." She said in annoyance. She caught Vaughn staring at her and laughed, "I mean, just kidding! Brother-sister relationships, you know?"

He nodded. He didn't really know but…

"Ruth." He said. "Are you going to stay here?"

The girl looked at Chelsea. "Can I?"

"Of course!" Laughed Chelsea, ruffling her snowy hair. She stopped and looked at the girl inquisitively, "Ruth?"

"Vaughn named me." She said.

Chelsea turned to Vaughn, "Good job!" She said with a thumbs up.

He sighed, he knew her personality change wouldn't last long.

"I'm Chelsea!" She said to Ruth.

Ruth nodded, "its nice."

He hadn't thought about it, if Chelsea was the woman that would mean that Chelsea wasn't her real name. He wasn't one to force stories out of other people, so he stood up. "I'll leave you two to catch up."

They sat there in silence as he left. "Do you…" started Chelsea, "Want to see the farm?"

Ruth smiled, "Yes."

She took her around and showed her where she planted each of her crops. Then she moved on to animals. "Alright in this field is a large cow." Said Chelsea, "I'd be careful, she has a tendency to ram people."

The girl nodded and hopped over the fence. The cow, who was grazing a second earlier's eye gleamed and it turned to face her. Ruth watched neutrally as it began to sprint towards her head first. Chelsea laughed, "She thinks she's a bull!"

Ruth stopped the cow mid-run by grabbing each of her horns. Chelsea smiled, "Your strength is as monstrous as ever!" She remembered how she had met the girl.

She had stumbled upon her one day by accident. During her teenaged years she had rebelled to authority as most teens do, but in her own special way. It had become a way to past the time for her, to sneak into the restricted areas of the base. One could imagine the surprise when she had happened upon the white haired girl.

_Reaper hopped from roof to roof within the compound. She paused as she surveyed the area to decide where she'd go for the day. Her eyes fixed upon a large sign in the distance that unmistakably read: KEEP OUT. Her lips curled up and she dropped down to the ground and walked over to the cement wall. It measured about four metres high and she figured she could probably scale it with a running start. Taking two steps back she sprinted forwards and took three large steps up the smooth wall. She caught the edge of the wall and hoisted herself up. She peered over curiously and blinked in surprise. The area behind the walls looked like a neglected yard. Chunks of grass stuck out from dusty dirt here and there with a dirty pond in the center. It wasn't the place itself that surprised her though. It was the girl. A girl with snow white hair was crouched over the pond._

_This girl was obviously no ordinary girl this wasn't just a deduction based off her hair and eye colour. They would never give an ordinary kid they got this sort of special attention, quarantined behind a restricted area. She frowned it always hurt to see children in the army. You could see in their eyes the fresh horror. This girl didn't have that look, her expression was blank. Reaper's eyes narrowed, she had her suspicions. Were the rumours true?_

_She sat on the wall for a little bit watching the girl but grew bored when she didn't budge. With a slight heave she jumped into the enclosure. The girl snapped around. _

_They took a moment to stare at one another, size each other up._

"_Sup." Said Reaper._

_The girl didn't respond at first. She just stared with an empty gaze. "Who are you?"_

"…_." Reaper didn't respond. Its not that she didn't want to. She just didn't know what to say. She would never willingly call herself the name Reaper but she had no other name to give._

"_Are you supposed to be here?" Asked the girl._

_Reaper grinned, "Nope."_

"_So you're an intruder." Said the girl simply. She stood up and rose her fist. "They told me to eliminate intruders." With that she rushed forward. The girl threw a punch but Reaper dodged, instead, she hit the wall leaving a large indent._

_The teen whistled. "Nice arm."_

_The girl paid no heed to the complement and lunged again. Once again the brunette dodged._

_Hours later they both lay panting on the smashed up floor._

"_You are a for-for-mididible opponent." Said the girl._

_Reaper laughed for the first time in quite awhile. She crawled over and ruffled the girl's hair._

_The girl yelped and hopped back. _

"_You're so cute." She said, "Kids that are too young to pronounce formidable are too young to be making that face." _

"_What face?" Asked the girl._

"_That I-don't-care-if-I-kill-you face." She said. "But then again you aren't an ordinary girl are you? I had hoped they were rumours…" _

"_What were?" Asked the girl._

"_That the army has been tampering with genetics." She said darkly, "tell me, are you one of those 'super babies' that people have been talking about?" _

"_I suppose so. I'm experiment number 3. My DNA has been coded for advanced strength." She looked up at the sky blankly, "Or something like that, I didn't really get it when they explained."_

_In a flash Reaper embraced the girl._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_You poor thing."_

"_Are you trying to strangle me? Your hold is off, I still have complete respiratory abilities and it's not tight enough, I could easily break out."_

"_It's a hug, and if you could, why haven't you already done so?"_

"_Because…. It's warm."_

_The brunette sat back still holding her shoulders. "How many of you are there?"_

"_I'm the latest experiment, and I heard the first two, the one for speed and the one for intelligence were failures."_

"_Aren't you lonely here alone?" Asked Reaper._

"_I don't think I like people that much." She said._

"_Do you dislike me?" Asked Reaper._

"_Oh." She said in sudden moderate surprise. "I was supposed to be killing you."_

_The brunette sweat dropped, "I think we've moved past that." She stood up and walked over to the wall. "I'll be back tomorrow okay?" Not waiting for an answer she quickly scaled the wall and disappeared. _

The next day she returned, and the next and the next. She told the girl stories about what was happening in the army but the stories the girl was most fascinated by were the ones of outside the wall. Reaper would tell them as she recalled them although remembering the world from a small child's eyes, some of them may have been a little exaggerated. Eventually the girl was put into the ranks of the military and as luck had it, in the unit that Reaper had been assigned captain of.

Chelsea looked guiltily at the girl now petting the cow. How could she of left her alone in that wretched place? At the time it seemed like the only option. She had to leave then, they had been planning it for months and she had found out suddenly that she was to be deployed to Iraq for two years the next day. Unfortunately Ruth had to undergo some sudden tests.

"Wow. It's amazing she can handle that cow."

Chelsea turned to see that Vaughn had returned. "Yep. What can I say? She's a pretty amazing girl."

He turned to Chelsea with a worried expression and glanced to make sure Ruth was out of ear shot. "Listen, I know now that you aren't quite who you say you are."

Chelsea expression froze and he knew he had just hit something. "I'm not going to pry but… is Ruth safe with you?"

She smiled sadly. "Nowhere is completely safe. Though her best chances are here on this island."

He frowned.

"Vaughn!" Said Ruth finally noticing his arrival. "I found an animal that isn't scared of me."

"Good for you." He said with an almost smile. Then he removed it. Something about today was making him especially sappy.

Chelsea clapped her hands in excitement. "Since we're all here how about we go to the diner together?"

He nodded in agreement. As they walked over to the diner they almost could be mistaken for a family. From afar. If you squinted. A weird one that is.

* * *

**Yep, all in a couple days work. **


	15. Fireworks!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon**

* * *

Chelsea and Ruth sat at the table with Julia in the shop.

"Chelsea!" She exclaimed, "You didn't come for breakfast!"

"I didn't want to intrude." She said rubbing the back of her head.

Vaughn who was standing nearby snorted and walked over, "When's that stopped you before?"

"Well now it's two of us…." She trailed off.

"We don't mind!" Said Mirabelle urgently from behind the counter.

"Yeah! We don't" said Julia with equal vigor.

They blushed as they watched Vaughn who was standing behind the two absentmindedly pick a leaf out of Ruth's hair.

"It's refreshing." Said Mirabelle.

Julia nodded her head, "Yeah, yeah, refreshing." They both sighed in contentment.

"Anyway!" Julia started, "The fireworks festival is today!"

She cringed at the look the three sent her that seemed to say _obvious much? _She sweat dropped, "So I was just wondering what you were going to wear?"

"Clothes" Said Chelsea

"Yeah, clothes." Agreed Ruth.

"NO NO NO!" squeaked Julia. Ruth stood up warily by her outburst but Chelsea gestured for her to sit back down. "You have to dress nicely! It's such a special event!"

Ruth and Chelsea cocked their heads in simultaneous confusion. "Our clothes aren't nice?" Asked Chelsea.

"I like these… Vaughn bought them." Said Ruth gesturing to her orange hoodie and white capris.

Julia rubbed her forehead, "it's like you two don't remember how to be girls."

"I object!" Said Chelsea.

"Listen, your clothes are nice but they aren't special occasion clothes." Julia told them.

"These are the only clothes we have." Said Chelsea.

Julia recoiled in, what they thought was more shock than was called for. "You poor things! Chelsea you borrow my clothes and how about we ask Eliza if she has anything to dress Ruth up in."

"Who's Eliza?" Asked Ruth.

Vaughn glanced at Julia in annoyance, "When you were showing her around the island you didn't think to introduce her to the one girl her age?"

"But she and Charlie were playing in the carpentry and Gannon scares me." She whined.

"So you didn't introduce her to any of the kids?!" He asked in disbelief. He grabbed her by her sleeve and dragged her out the shop gesturing for Ruth to follow. Once both girls were outside he yelled at his cousin, "Do your job properly this time, and don't come back until she'd properly acquainted with everyone!"

"Why can't you do it?" She pouted.

"Because I hate people." He grunted.

"Liar." She mumbled, "You just want to be alone with Chelsea."

To her disappointment he didn't react to her taunt. Instead he slammed the door on her and walked back the table. Chelsea laughed in amusement. "You know I could have taken her right?"

"We have to teach Julia to finish what she started." He said in annoyance.

Julia walked up the path to the carpenter's slowly. "Why does Vaughn want to be alone with Chelsea?"

Julia grinned mischievously, this would be her payback. "Because he liiiiikkes her."

Ruth nodded, "me too."

Julia put a hand to her face in annoyance, "No, I mean he like, likes her."

Ruth nodded, "Yes, so do I."

Julia shook her head in amusement, "You're a strange kid."

At the door, Julia took a deep breath before turning the knob. Ruth watched this in wonder and took a deep breath as well.

Once inside she glanced around in confusion. There seemed to be sufficient oxygen. Julia screeched and jumped back as the massive counter lifted.

A burly gorilla/man looked down at a little blond girl. "Is it under there?" He grunted under the weight. The girl crawled under and came back out with a bead that she strung onto her broken bracelet.

"Yep" She said and the man placed the desk back down. "Thanks dad. That was my favorite bead."

He grunted to acknowledge her thank you and then noticed the little girl staring at him and Julia cowering in the corner.

"You're very strong." Said the girl.

"A new face." He said.

"And a girl!" Squealed the blond. "This is great! All I had was Charlie to play with on this island!" The girl hurried over and clasped Ruth's hands. "and you're kinda' cute! I'll give you fashion advice anytime okay?"

Ruth nodded slightly perplexed and Julia, finally calmed down, walked over, "And boy does she need your help! She was planning on wearing THAT to the fireworks festival."

Eliza gasped, "No, no, that simply won't do!"

"Right!" Said Julia, "Someone gets me! This is Ruth by the way and Ruth, this is Eliza." She gestured to the blond girl.

"Charmed." Said Eliza.

"Anyway, Eliza." Said Julia, "Can I trust you to help out Ruth? I have to go work out that clueless farmer."

Eliza nodded enthusiastically, "You can count on me!"

Julia left and Eliza turned to Ruth. "So are you a permanent resident on this island?"

Ruth nodded, "I'm staying with Cap- Chelsea."

"Really?" Asked Eliza, "That's great!"

The giant man shot a sloppy smile, "Tell I'll give her a discount on an extra bed."

Ruth nodded.

"This is my dad Gannon." Said Eliza, "He's to town's carpenter."

Ruth gazed at him with fascination. "You're a dad?"

He grinned, "I know I may look a little scary but, yep, I'm a dad."

"I don't think you look scary." Said Ruth.

"Much appreciated." Nodded Gannon.

Growing impatient Eliza grabbed Ruth and dragged her upstairs, "Come on! There's work to be done!"

Ruth's eyes widened at what lay ahead. So. Much. Frills.

Back at the ranch, Chelsea was enduring similar horrors. Like a doll Julia was excitedly putting dress after dress against her. She looked at her clothes laid out on the bed and picked out a blue sundress. Try this one out, she said throwing it at Chelsea.

Chelsea looked blankly at her.

"Well try it on!" Said Julia.

"I'm waiting for you to turn around!" Said Chelsea.

Julia grinned evilly, "Oh, you're shy? Come on Chelsea." She said edging closer, "We're both girls here."

"That's not it!" Cried Chelsea clutching at her shirt.

Poor, unfortunate Vaughn was sitting in the next room over and was forced to overhear there girl talk.

"My." Said Mirabelle, "I remember when I was their age."

He didn't respond instead trying to block out the sounds of his cousin trying to undress Chelsea.

"Stop dodging me!" He heard her whine.

"Nooo!" Cried Chelsea.

Geez what was the big deal? He froze as he remembered something Ruth told him. _A large scar and tattoo_. He sat up suddenly and burst into the room where his cousin had the girl cornered. He grabbed her by the arm. "Just give her some privacy!" He told her sternly. Julia grumbled and exited the room.

He turned to Chelsea.

"Thank you Vaughn." She said. "You have no idea how much you helped me out."

"I do actually." He said and she looked at him in surprise. "Ruth had given me a physical description of you while she was lookin'."

"Oh." She said, "Thanks for saving me then. Let's keep that a secret okay?"

He turned and started walking back out the door. "Course." He said and closed the door behind him.

Moments later they heard her emerge, "Julia?" She called, "I'm done!"

They could hear her walking down and Julia panicked. "WAIT!"

"Why?" Asked Chelsea.

"Vaughn can't see you!" She called.

"Why not?" Asked Chelsea.

"Because he's taking you right?" Asked Julia. At this point Vaughn spat out the milk he was drinking.

"I don't remembering him ever asking me." Called Chelsea.

Julia grinned, "Well you both want to watch them with Ruth right? So technically you'll be going together!"

Chelsea stood outside Julia's bedroom door. Her reasoning made sense. "So why can't he see me?"

"Because he has to be surprised!" Called Julia.

"Why would he be surprised?" She asked.

"Because guys like to see the girls they like dressed up!" Julia called, this was followed by an "OW!"

Chelsea frowned, "Is everything alright?" She called.

"He hit me!" She cried. "But don't think I can't see that blush you're hiding cowboy!" Then there was another "Ow!" Before Julia stalked upstairs.

Vaughn steamed and sat down on the couch, crossing his arms.

"Oh my gosh!" He heard Julia cry. "You look amazing!"

He rolled his eyes, _girls._

"I was a little worried the bust wouldn't fit properly but good for you! Let's get you into makeup to!" She squealed.

His face heated up and he stalked out of the shop. Mirabelle giggled from behind the counter.

He stopped outside. Eliza and Ruth were walking over from the carpenter's. Ruth stopped in front of him. "Hello." She said. She wore a frilly purple dress with a large bow in her short hair. Despite the change in wardrobe, her expression remained entirely neutral.

"Hi Vaughn!" Giggled Eliza.

"Chelsea?" Asked Ruth sparing no extra words.

"Inside." He gestured at the door and walked off.

Eliza hugged Ruth's arm. "When I grow up I'm going to marry someone as mysterious and dreamy as Vaughn!"

Ruth nodded blankly.

"And he's going to be rich to! With a big house with eight bedrooms!"

"I see." Said Ruth not entirely sure why one would want such a big house.

Vaughn only returned to the ranch once it was nearly six.

"He's here!" Squealed Julia and Chelsea stumbled into the room as if pushed.

"H-Hiya?" Said Chelsea nervously.

Vaughn looked at her in surprise. She wore a loose blue summer dress that showed off her thin frame. The slight bit of make up on her face did wonders to enlarge her already bright eyes. Her cheeks were lightly tinted indicating blush and she glanced away awkwardly. "D-do I look weird or somthin'?"

He was about to tell her she didn't but something came out from behind him and his mouth opened in surprise. Ruth had jumped off of his shoulders and landed neatly before Chelsea. Chelsea laughed.

"What was that?!" He asked in annoyance.

"Well Julia had said earlier that we had to 'surprise' the person we were watching fireworks with right? So we teamed up!" She grinned.

Julia moaned as she came over, "You ruined it!"

"Was that no good?" Asked Chelsea innocently.

Julia shook her head and the doorbell rang. "I bet that's Elliot!" She squealed. She flung open the door and let the boy in. He was stunned speechless by the young woman's dress and appearance.

"You look beautiful." He blushed.

"You cleaned up nicely too!" Then she froze and an uneasy feeling made its way up Vaughn's spine. As if a robot she snapped around immediately zoning in on Vaughn. "I forgot about you." Said Julia darkly walking slowly and menacingly over to him.

He stepped back and turned to Chelsea hoping that she might return the favor from earlier. She just stood there with the same smile she usually had pasted on.

Julia looked him up and down before tearing off his vest, utility belt and bandanna. He looked at her in annoyance and she grinned before grabbing his hat.

"Hey!" He protested.

"This will have to do." Said Julia. "Is this okay Chelsea?" She asked. "Chelsea?"

Chelsea stood frozen, there was always something about the hat-less Vaughn that left her weak at the knees, less like an ex-militant and more like a girl. She wasn't sure if she like this weak feeling. "You know," she said to Julia, "It's okay it he wants to wear his hat. I don't want him to be uncomfortable or anything."

"Nonsense!" Said Julia, "he's fine! Now let's go!" She grabbed Elliot by the arm and led him out in excitement.

Chelsea grinned and grabbed one of Vaughn's arms. Ruth grabbed the other and smiled. The walked out of the shop like that. "I can't walk properly with you two on me like this." He said but made no move to remove them.

"Hey Vaughn," Asked Ruth, "What's the difference between like and like-like?"

He glanced at her in surprise. He had never really thought of how to word the definitions. "Well," he said, "Like is to like someone or something but like-like is to-" He wasn't quite sure, "Why are you asking me this?"

"Julia says you like-like Chelsea."

The two adults blushed. "Julia says a lot of things" he said in irritation.

They sat down on a patch of grass at the edge of the beach. Soon after Eliza and Charlie ran over.

"Wow you're right!" Exclaimed Charlie, "There is another kid!" He inspected her closely and beamed, "I'm Charlie."

"Ruth." Said Ruth.

"Ruth want to come watch the fireworks with us?" Asked Eliza.

Ruth glanced to Vaughn and Chelsea for approval. They nodded and she went off.

Things suddenly got much more tense after that. It was one thing to go as a group but Chelsea and Vaughn had suddenly found themselves alone together. Chelsea attempted to smile, "I'm excited, I haven't seen fireworks since…." She trailed off, "Actually, I don't remember ever specifically seeing them but I must have…In the time before, 'cause I can picture what they look like."

Vaughn frowned, "did you two live in a hole or something?"

Chelsea laughed, "Of course not!" and then mumbled "Not most of the time."

He shook his head, he'll never understand them and that saddened him. Sometimes he could only feel a little wistful when he was with them. They accepted him with open arms but occasionally made remarks that would show him just how little he knew about the two. Mind you, he wasn't clambering over chairs to tell them _his_ back story.

The fireworks started and they both watched them peacefully.

"They're pretty." She said. He nodded.

They both chose to lean on their arms at the same time and their shoulders bumped together. They shot back muttering apologies. For a second their eyes met and no matter how he tried, he could not tear them away. Her eyes were such a shocking shade of blue. Sometimes they lit up, whereas other times, on the rare occasions that she was angry, they grew so deep and dark you could drown.

He wanted to know more about them he realized. Not the eyes, about Ruth and Chelsea. About this dark place they came from, the scar, the tattoo the nicknames they had for each other.

The fireworks finished and Ruth came over.

"How were they?" He asked.

"Good." Said Ruth. "I was surprised."

They stood up and he walked them home.

"Thanks for everything Vaughn, really." Said Chelsea.

"No problem." He muttered.

"Are you leaving?" Asked Ruth.

"I'll be back next week he said."

They said their goodbyes and the two girls watched him disappear from the farm.

* * *

**Okay! So I will update again but not for a little while anyway. I gotta finish all the that summer homework I didn't do.. Ehehehe.**


	16. Mark

**Its been a little while since I last updated but I'm completely bogged down in school work, sorry. **

He sat back as the boat moved lazily through the water. In the early morning, the sea breeze lightly dampened his face and clothes. The wet haze kept most passengers down in the cabins allowing him to be one only one on the deck. The cowboy untied his white bandanna and used it to dry his face. He tied it back around his neck as he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He balled his fist in annoyance, this was always designated "Vaughn time". Why would anyone else come up with the risk of getting soaked? He relaxed and gripped the handrails, he could always tune other presences out.

"Hey!" Said the person behind him. He bit his lip before turning around to face the stranger. A man around his age stood grinning back at him.

The blond touched his baseball cap and beamed, "I'm Mark! Are you also going to Sunshine Island?"

"Yeah." Said Vaughn. He hoped that his tone and choice to use as little words as possible would give the man the hint to get lost. It was to no avail.

"Cool! I hear there is an amazing farmer there! Ah, you see I want to someday be a farmer too! I thought I'd get some pointers!" His eyes twinkled with excitement as he spoke. "You wouldn't happen to be that farmer would you?" He asked glancing at Vaughn's attire.

"No, I'm Vaughn, the animal dealer." He grunted.

"Really?!" Mark asked excitedly. "Then you must work with them! Them being...?"

"Chelsea." Said Vaughn.

"A girl." Said the blond with a mischievous tone. "What's she like?"

"Works hard. Animals don't like her much though." Said Vaughn in irritation. He didn't like how interested Mark sounded in Chelsea.

"Weird." Grinned Mark. "You'd think ability with animals would be a must." The boat finally reached shore and the two got off. Vaughn tried to speed up walking to ditch the wannabe farmer but the man matched his pace. He spotted Natalie stripping sea weed from the large rock and sped briskly over to her. She turned around in surprise and Vaughn grabbed Marks arm, shoving him into her. "Mark, Natalie, Natalie, Mark" he grumbled and stalked off to Chelsea's farm.

The blond and the pink haired girl jumped away from each other. She was about to snap at him for bumping into her but he interrupted her. "Ah, sorry about that! I don't think he likes me very much…"

"It's okay." She muttered crossly.

"Geez." He said rubbing the back of his head, "Is everyone on this island this grumpy?"

"I think the better question is 'is everyone who comes to the island this bubbly?'" She said rolling her eyes.

"I'm new here, so would you mind showing me around?" Asked the man.

"Sure," she sighed, "There's not much else to do."

She took him around to the houses, deciding to leave the farm for last since Chelsea was probably busy. Pointing at one bridge she told him, "That leads to the meadow, we hold festivals there."

"What about that one?" He asked gesturing to another bridge off in the distance.

"That's the jungle, the bridge was only built a couple days ago. There's some natives living and the other side."

"Must of been a shocking first encounter. Where they surprised to see you?" He joked.

"One of them had never seen other people before, he wanted to eat me." She told him.

"So you were the first to meet them?" Marks eyes sparkled, "What was it like?"

"Well, I actually went with Chelsea you see…" She started.

_When Natalie entered the farm, she spotted Chelsea sitting on the fence of the pasture. She was staring out into the field overlooking her livestock. Fall was now in full swing and she had finally bought another cow, who was smart enough to avoid Milky like the plague. She named her Butter. As well, she had bought a sheep named Fleece who got along with Butter famously. Natalie could recall these details from the day the brunette dragged her around the farm. _

_Walking over to where Chelsea sat she leaned on the fence offering a swift greeting. The farmer nodded in acknowledgement. Natalie liked these times when they were alone together, she felt special that Chelsea felt no need to act differently around her like the rest of the villagers. _

_She turned to watch Gannon make his way down the path to her farm and grinned, this could only mean one thing. "I've finished that bridge to the Jungle." He told the girls._

"_Awesome!" She grinned._

_He grunted and stalked back off. Seconds later Natalie grabbed Chelsea by the arms and began dragging her away. _

"_Woah, woah, what's going on? I swear, whatever it is it wasn't me!" Chelsea pleaded jokingly._

_Natalie turned to her in excitement, "Let's explore!" Chelsea's eyes widened, at the pink haired girl's unusual burst of enthusiasm. _

"_K, where?" She asked._

_Now Natalie was irritated, "The jungle, obviously!"_

"_Riiiighty-o!" Grinned Chelsea, "Lead the way!"_

_They crossed the island and stopped before the jungle. Chelsea let out a low whistle and knocked on the wood handrail. "How does he do it?"_

_Natalie really had no interest in carpentry and husked the farmer along. There were more important things at hand. "Let's go" she said, crossing the bridge._

"_What's got you so excited" the brunette asked her friend._

"_Ingredients!" Said Natalie. "Just imagine the possible ingredients."_

"_Oh, so I'm grocery shopping with you." Said Chelsea lamely._

_Natalie grinned, "You're going to be my bodyguard! Who knows what might be in this jungle!"_

"_You want me to fight leopards while you're off picking grasses?" Chelsea asked skeptically._

"_Well, I guess you don't have to fight… How fast can you run?" She asked assessing Chelsea's legs._

_A chill went down the brunette's spine, so now she was the designated decoy/cat food?_

_They entered the jungle and at first it had seemed harmless enough. Natalie looked and the ingredients in disgust, mushrooms. Not only did she hate mushrooms with a burning passion, they were the exact same mushrooms that could be found in the forest and around the island! There was also the standard coloured grasses. She at least picked those since they were relatively good quality._

_Chelsea took the mushrooms Natalie rejected. They'd surely make a profit which she desperately needed after the addition of the new livestock, the extra bed and the extra mouth to feed. Natalie grimaced knowing that she'd be stuck dealing with the 'shrooms later as they made their way through her family's shipping business._

_As she was picking, something suddenly grabbed her ankle and she tripped to the ground before the ground suddenly disappeared beneath her. Chelsea, who had been alerted by her shriek turned around in surprise only to burst out laughing. Natalie had been caught by a primitive trap, one of those which catches you by the foot and suspends you in the air and suspended the pink haired girl was. _

_She sent Chelsea the dirtiest look she could manage but it was hard to look intimidating when you're dangling upside-down unevenly. "Don't just stand there!" She yelled. "Let me down!"_

_Chelsea looked around trying to assess the best way to cut her loose without causing her brain damage. She pulled out her clippers and threw them skillfully at the rope. It cut neatly and she caught the girl bridal style. Natalie immediately shoved her away causing her to fall unceremoniously to the ground._

_She got up and rubbed her aching bottom in annoyance. "What's with that?!" She exclaimed, "A trap in the middle of nowhere!"_

_Chelsea examined it closely. "Natalie." She said. "I think maybe we should go."_

"_Why?!" She said. "I'm not going to make that mistake twice!"_

"_Because, this trap is fresh." Said Chelsea darkly._

"_Then I'm definitely not leaving!" Said Natalie trampling further into the underbrush. "Whoever made this is going to pay!" Chelsea followed regretfully._

_They waddled through the creepers with some difficulty and on more than one occasion could of sworn they felt something slither against their legs but the more they endured, the more furious Natalie became. _

_Suddenly without warning Chelsea pulled her backwards. Natalie made a noise of protest but it was cut short when a spear came blazing through the trees and lodged into the trunk where her head would have been. _

_Chelsea turned around into the direction it was lobbed from and slowly pulled her sickle from her backpack. "Chelsea!" Begged Natalie, "I really don't think this is safe, we should go!"_

"_But there's a dangerous person on this island!" Protested the brunette, "We should deal with them now!" _

_Natalie stepped back. A figure dashed by before she could even fully register it Chelsea blocked it with the handle of her tool. The two struggled against one and other and it became clear that the other person was some sort of native. _

_He jumped back and then lunged again, spear in hand. Their weapons clashed a few times before both stopped to get a better look at their opponent. His eyes widened now as he fully took Chelsea in. Quickly, he fled into the dark. _

_Chelsea grabbed Natalie and they ran in pursuit. They came upon a small shack and they nodded at each other before bursting in. _

"_Wada!" Said the spear-holder. "There's strange creatures outside!"_

_The old man he was talking to's attention turned to the two girls who had stumbled into his home._

_The young man followed his line of site and spotted the two as well. "That them!" He said in surprise. "What are they? Can we eat them?"_

"_No." Said the other man, "They're… like us…. Human… Female."_

_Suddenly the young man was all smiles, "Sorry!" He said, "I never met other people!" He sniffed Natalie but she whacked him away. He grinned entirely unfazed. "I'm Shea!"_

"_I'm Chelsea." Smiled the brunette._

"_Natalie." Said Natalie entirely unamused._

"_You live on island?" Asked Shea._

"_Yup!" Grinned Chelsea._

"_I did not know, there other people." Said Shea in wonder. "We be friends!"_

"So basically, they're nice enough, just not used to other people. They adapted pretty fast though." Said Natalie finishing her story.

"You went through all that danger for ingredients?! You must be quite the sous-chef." He grinned wiggling his eyebrows.

She blushed, "Ah, well I'm not quite as good as Pierre or Luke, but I hold my own."

He smiled that he finally broke the girl's outer shell. "What kinds of dishes do you make?"

"Are you interested in cooking?" She asked.

"Dunno." He shrugged, "I've made one or two things for the family that took me in, it was kinda enjoyable. Now I _know_ I like eating things."

"Family that took you in?" She asked.

"Yeah," He smiled sheepishly. "In truth, I woke up about a month ago with no memory of who I was and a big bump on my noggin. A farming family took me in and gave me a name. They were really kind, It's sort of why I decided to be a farmer."

"Wow," said Natalie, "that's pretty crazy. I thought that kind of stuff only happened in tv."

"Guess not." He grinned.

They walked into the animal shop and the bell over the door rang. Mark immediately recognized the figure in the back talking softly to a small girl. _So he does have a good side. _"Vaughn!" He called wavering wildly. Vaughn looked up at him in irritation. The girl looked up as well and paled.

"Who's this little lady?" He asked walking over. The girl immediately snapped out of her shock and growled lowly while baring her teeth.

Vaughn glanced down at her in shock. He had certainly never seen this kind of behavior from Ruth before.

"Ruth!" Chided Julia from behind the desk, "where are your manners? Do I have to talk to Chelsea?"

The doors chimed a second time, "Talk to me about what?' Asked the woman entering.

"Ruth's been possessed!" Cried Julia

Chelsea laughed "what are you-" She stopped as she noticed Mark. Something flashed in her eyes and then she smiled brightly. "Hi! Nice to meet you!"

"Chelsea!" Protested Ruth.

"So you're Chelsea!" He said in wonder, "it's an honor to meet such a successful farmer!" He extended his hand for a hand shake but she didn't take it.

"Oh you flatter me." She said, Vaughn noticed with distaste that her cheeks were reddening. "Anyway," she smiled, "I have to go now, come Ruth." The girl got up from the table and the two walked out together, the little girl glaring at Mark as she past.

Once they were safely outside, Ruth wheeled on her, "WHY WERE YOU SO NICE TO HIM?!"

Chelsea began to shake, "Ruth, you have to learn to control yourself." Her smile dropped and she punched a tree they past hard enough to tilt it. "I have no idea why that sorry excuse for a human being is here, and I can't tell you how much," She said lifting a shaking fist, "How much I wanted to smash his stupid face in."

"Not decapitate?" She asked.

"Decapitation is much too merciful a death for that traitor." Spat Chelsea in anger.

"Aww," Said Ruth in fake sympathy, "but he is your brother."

"He will NEVER be called my brother again."

Chelsea was seething with anger now, if he was here he must be planning something. She wasn't one to believe in coincidences.

* * *

**I feel that was kind of rushed, and that part about meeting Shea was pretty irrelevant. At first this chapter was going to be just Them meeting Shea and Wada as a way to pass time before Vaughn came back but... I figured it was entirely useless. At the same time I didn't feel like getting rid of what I already wrote 'cause I'm lazy and had actually put _some _effort into it so I kept it as a flash back changing the point of view to Natalie's. **

**So how many of you totally saw that part with Mark coming all along? I have been alluding to a brother for quite some time.**


End file.
